The Dallas Stars have set their initial 2026-27 roster, and Jim Nill’s group comes out of the gate with 21 active players: 12 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders.
The club also listed five players - Tristian Bertucci, Jaxon Fuder, Cameron Hughes, Luke Krys and Harrison Scott - on Injured Non-Roster.
A big piece of the roster’s identity remains the Stars’ draft pipeline. Eleven of the players on the roster were drafted by Dallas, including first-round picks Lian Bichsel, Wyatt Johnston, Thomas Harley, Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger and Radek Faksa.
The returning core from 2025-26 is deep and familiar. Up front, Dallas brings back Oskar Bäck, Jamie Benn, Matt Duchene, Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz, Justin Hryckowian, Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen, Jason Robertson, Tyler Seguin, Sam Steel and Joel Kiviranta.
On the blue line, the group includes Lian Bichsel, Kyle Capobianco, Thomas Harley, Miro Heiskanen, Esa Lindell, Nils Lundkvist and Tyler Myers. In goal, Casey DeSmith and Jake Oettinger are back.
Several of those names come with the kind of roster history that shapes a team’s foundation. Benn was a fifth-round pick in 2007.
Heiskanen and Oettinger were both first-round selections in 2017. Harley went 18th overall in 2019, Johnston followed at 23rd overall in 2021, and Bichsel joined the organization as the 18th overall pick in 2022.
Faksa, meanwhile, was taken 13th overall in 2012.
Dallas also continues to lean on players acquired through trades and free agency. Nill’s roster includes Rantanen, who arrived from Carolina in exchange for Logan Stankoven, a 2026 first-round pick, a 2026 third-round pick, a 2027 third-round pick and a 2028 first-round pick on March 8, 2025.
Myers came over from Vancouver on March 4, 2026 in a deal that sent a 2027 second-round pick and a 2029 fourth-round pick the other way. Lundkvist was acquired from the New York Rangers on Sept. 19, 2022 for a conditional first-round pick in the 2023 NHL Draft and a conditional fourth-round selection in 2025.
The roster also features players signed by Dallas in free agency, including Capobianco, DeSmith, Duchene, Hryckowian and Steel. Bennett, Heiskanen, Hintz, Lindell, Robertson and Seguin remain central pieces of the lineup as the Stars move into the season with a group built from both homegrown talent and major outside additions.
In Other News...
Stars Win May Have Just Created A Wild Problem To Watch
Minnesota wrapped up its preseason with a loss to Dallas, but the bigger concern coming out of that game was less about the final score and more about what happened on the blue line. The Wild are now in the stretch run before opening night, with two regular-season games left to get ready, and they have already started sorting through special teams work and defensive pairings in case their lineup has to absorb an early-season adjustment.
Brock Fabers status is the piece everyone is watching after he was hurt in the final preseason game and then stayed out of the next two practices. John Hynes said Faber was home resting, and the club was expecting a further update Tuesday, leaving Minnesota to prepare without knowing yet whether one of its key defensemen will be available when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Final Forward Decisions Say A Lot About This Veteran Push
The opening night roster says plenty about where this Stars group believes it is headed. Dallas went with 12 forwards, seven defensemen and two goaltenders, keeping the blue line and crease intact while leaning into a familiar core up front. Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn are still part of the plan, a sign the Stars are continuing to build around veterans who know the standards in this room.
There is also a bit of movement around the edges of the forward group, and that part of the roster has its own intrigue. Joel Kiviranta is back in Dallas after three seasons with Colorado, giving the club another familiar face as it tries to balance experience, depth and fit on the wing. The final forward decisions hint at a team trying to stay in win-now mode without straying too far from the identity that has carried it this far. [Read more 🡒]
Stars May Regret This Goalie Decision Sooner Than Expected
Remi Poiriers strong preseason put him in the mix for the backup job behind Casey DeSmith, but the opportunity never quite turned into a roster spot in Dallas. The Stars moved him to waivers, ending his push for the No. 2 job and opening the door for another club to take a closer look at the young goalie.
New Jersey did exactly that, and the fit could make the decision harder to ignore in hindsight. Poirier now has a chance to compete for what may be his first real NHL workload with the Devils, leaving Dallas to wonder whether a promising camp performance was overlooked at the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]