The Dallas Stars have come to an agreement with forward Mattias Janmark on a one-year contract extension worth $700K. The 24-year old missed the entire 2016-17 season due to a knee injury, but had returned to practice and should be ready for training camp. He was set to become a restricted free agent for the first time this summer.
Janmark was originally acquired—along with several other pieces—from the Detroit Red Wings in exchange for Erik Cole at the 2015 trade deadline, and made his Dallas debut last season. His 29 points in 73 games as a rookie made quite an impact among the Stars faithful, as he looked like a core piece for many years. The young forward had played well at both ends of the rink, and though was not a physical presence—he registered just four hits over the whole season—did work hard to retrieve pucks and could fit into many spots in a lineup.
He’ll now try to return to that level of play for the Stars next season, after an incredibly difficult season in Dallas. The team went 34-37-11 without him this year, a 30 point fall from their Western Conference-leading 2015-16 record. With a new (old) coach in Ken Hitchcock, it remains to be seen how Janmark will be used. With the degenerative knee injury hopefully behind him, he’ll be a big boost to the club next year.