In a recent trade, the Dallas Stars managed to shed a sizable amount of salary, trading defenceman Matt Dumba and a second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenceman Vladislav Kolyachonok. The rookie blueliner they acquired has played fewer than 50 NHL games and has room to grow before becoming a full-time NHL player.
The move, while not earth-shattering, opens up two things for the Stars—a spot on their blueline and nearly $2M in salary cap space. With retained salary, both of those things make a Rasmus Andersson move much easier to facilitate.
The fit between the Dallas Stars and Rasmus Andersson
The Dallas Stars seem to be a step away from being a real Stanley Cup contender, but they have a lot of the right pieces to be dangerous. Backed by Jake Oettinger in the net, the team has several excellent forwards, including Jason Robertson, Roope Hintz, Wyatt Johnston, and recently acquired Mikko Rantanen.
However, their blueline leaves something to be desired. Esa Lindell is a fantastic shutdown defenceman and Thomas Harley is coming into his own at 23 years old. However, their stud defenceman Miro Heiskanen hasn’t played a full NHL season since 2018–19. There are real injury concerns with him that impact his future.
On top of that, the bottom three on the blueline are Ilya Lyubushkin, Alex Petrovic—who is probably an AHLer—and young defenders Nils Lundkvist, Lian Bischel and Kolyachonok. This doesn’t seem like a Stanley Cup-winning blueline.
This is a blueline that needs a shot in the arm, and has the willingness and capacity to make a splash.
Andersson would be a natural fit on the blueline. He would walk onto the team as the best right-handed defenceman, and would immediately strengthen the blueline substantially. He could also play with any of the Stars’ top three left-handed blueliners, Harley, Heiskanen, or Lindell. Alternatively, the Stars could keep Lindell with Heiskanen, and Andersson could partner with Harley to make one of the most fun defensive pairings in the league. This would shelter Lyubuskin to a role in line with his abilities, and give the three young players rotational minutes on the bottom pairing.
What would it cost the Dallas Stars to acquire Rasmus Andersson?
Of course, this works best if the Flames retain at least 50% of Andersson’s contract. This way, the Stars only have to move a player on a league-minimum deal to make this deal work. If they wanted to move just picks, they could do so with a third team involved in retaining salary. With just one year left on his deal, the cost to retain up to 25% of his salary will be minimal, likely a later-round draft pick.
For the Flames, the key pieces involved have to be high draft picks and/or young players. As outlined here, the price for Andersson would likely start with a first-round pick, a near NHL-ready or young NHLer, and a second draft pick, depending on how good the player coming back is.
Ideally, the package would be the Stars’ 2027 first-round pick (they do not have a 2026 first-round pick), one of Mavrik Bourque or Bischel, and a third or fourth-round pick. If the Stars offer Emil Hemming, Cameron Schmidt, or another blue-chip prospect, the Flames should also ask for at least another second-round pick. This return also assumes that the Stars sign Andersson to a new, longer-term deal.
Does this deal make sense for Calgary?
This works well for Calgary, as they get another high pick in the draft as well as a near NHL-ready prospect who could be part of the team’s future core. The team is desperately in need of young left-shot defencemen and centremen, and either Bourque or Bischel makes a lot of sense.
For the Stars, they add to their defence substantially, and push their chips into the middle towards the playoffs for the next few years. Except for Robertson and Harley, this team’s core is all locked up long-term, and they just need to solidify a little more to be a playoff team for the next few years. The Central Division is only getting more competitive, with the Winnipeg Jets, Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and Minnesota Wild all looking to get stronger this summer. The Stars are structured to match strength with strength.
Having moved out Dumba, the Stars feel ready to make a move. Assuming Andersson is willing to sign long-term with a contender like Dallas, this deal makes tons of sense for both teams. It’s time to make this deal happen.
