Stars Land Dan Hamhuis in Free Agency

The Dallas Stars were looking to add another defenseman and they found their man. Dan Hamhuis agreed to a two year contract worth $7.5 million, which makes for a reasonable cap hit of $3.75 million per season.

Hamhuis played the last six seasons with the Vancouver Canucks, playing a total of 387 games in which he had 23 goals, 119 assists, 142 points and averaged 22:49 of ice time per game. In the 58 games played last year, he had three goals, 10 assists, 13 points in 21:25 of ice time per game. Facial fractures suffered from being hit in the face with a puck were the cause of his limited number of games last year. In 872 career NHL games, he has 55 goals 248 assists, 303 points and 10 game-winning goals.

The defenseman will likely be the final piece to the puzzle on the Stars’ blue line for next year. Hamhuis is a sound defensive defenseman that can log big time minutes. He can be expected to play in the top four for the Stars. If needed, the defenseman could be used in a shutdown role. He can move the puck well out of his own zone, which seemed to be a problem for the Stars against the St. Louis Blues in the second round of the playoffs. Hamhuis can also be utilized on the penalty kill.

He has good hockey sense, but lacks a physical side to his game. Also, don’t expect him to contribute much in the offensive zone since his career high in any one season has been seven goals. Hamhuis is a savvy, veteran defenseman that can eat up minutes. If he can stay healthy then he can be a solid second or third pair defenseman, who leads by example while on the ice.

The signing of Hamhuis is a good bridge deal since he is 33-years-old, and he can be a leader on the blue line for the Stars, who will have a lot of young defenseman defending their own zone.