Stars don't believe they have to shed money to sign top RFAs

While Dallas has roughly $11M in cap space per CapFriendly and still has to re-sign RFA winger Jason Robertson and RFA goaltender Jake Oettinger, assistant GM Scott White told Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News that the Stars don’t believe they’re in a position where they have to shed money to keep those two around. They have enough cap space left to sign one of the two to a long-term contract while the other would need to be on a short-term bridge deal but doing that would allow them to keep Radek Faksa and Denis Gurianov in the fold. To get both RFAs signed to long-term contracts, one of those two forwards and likely goalie Anton Khudobin would need to be moved out to open up extra cap flexibility. As a result, their summer shopping is likely done until Robertson and Oettinger put pen to paper on their new contracts.

Elsewhere in the Central:

• In an interview on ESPN 101, winger David Perron indicated he didn’t receive a formal contract offer from the Blues before eventually signing a two-year, $9.5M deal with Detroit. Perron and St. Louis GM Doug Armstrong both expressed mutual interest in a new contract getting reached, especially after the 34-year-old put up 57 points in 67 games last season. However, as Armstrong noted to Jim Thomas of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, his priority was shoring up the defense and Nick Leddy’s willingness to sign a four-year, $16M contract basically took any chance of them keeping Perron in the fold off the table.
• Blackhawks prospect Landon Slaggert gave no consideration to turning pro after his sophomore season at Notre Dame, relays Scott Powers of The Athletic. The 20-year-old forward had 26 points in 40 games last season and was named to the United States’ roster for the postponed World Juniors. Powers adds that it would be surprising if the 2020 third-rounder doesn’t turn pro after the college season comes to an end, however, potentially creating a situation where Chicago could burn the first year of his entry-level deal right away and give him a taste of NHL action.