Name: Nils Lundkvist

Number: 5

Age: 24

Birthplace: Pitea, Sweden

Height/Weight: 6-1, 190

2023-24 stats: 2 goals, 17 assists for 19 points in 59 games

Contract: On one-year deal at salary cap hit of $1.25 million

Performance evaluation: Nils Lundkvist did a lot of good things last season. He gained weight and became stronger, he improved his points per game from 0.27 to 0.32, improved his plus-minus from minus-5 to plus-13, and improved his puck possession (SAT) from 51.9 percent to 53.6 percent. Yet, he still struggled to earn playing time. Lundkvist saw his minutes per game drop from 16:19 in 2022-23 to 14:06 in 2023-24. And while he had his first playoff action, he averaged just 4:28 in 12 games before he was a healthy scratch for the remainder of the playoffs. Replacement Alex Petrovic averaged 12:02, which is a pretty stark contrast for Lundkvist. The former first-round draft pick, who requested a trade to get out of the New York Rangers system in 2022, handled the setbacks well and seemed determined to fight through. When given a chance to walk away as an unrestricted free agent in the summer, he chose to sign a one-year deal with the Stars.

Expectations for 2024-25: The story of Lundkvist is both confusing and familiar. It sure seems like the front office has every faith that Lundkvist will be a key contributor to the team now and in the future, but the coaching staff seems to get nervous when he’s on the ice. This has happened before in Dallas with players such as Jamie Oleksiak, Patrik Nemeth and Jyrki Jokipakka involved in a rotation of healthy scratches. While it seemed like a good idea to have them fight for playing time, each became skittish and eventually were moved away (Oleksiak came back after a rehab stint in Pittsburgh). So, will the same thing happen with Lundkvist? He’s pretty much headed into a make it or break it year. While Dallas has lost three defensemen in Chris Tanev, Ryan Suter and Jani Hakanpää, it has also brought in three defensemen in Matt Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin and Brendan Smith. In addition, rookie Lian Bichsel has significant expectations around him and could dance between the AHL and NHL or simply start with the big league team if he has a great camp. So where does that leave Lundkvist? Well, the team now has three right-handed defensemen (Lundkvist among them) and could move Miro Heiskanen to the left side if they want to try that. If they do, Lundkvist could be a lineup regular and might even get a chance to play on a pairing with Heiskanen every now and then. If the coaches choose to keep Heiskanen on the right side with Thomas Harley on the left, it could be easy to see Dumba and Lyubushkin on the right side on the second and third pairings. Technically, the Stars could try Dumba or Lyubushkin on the left side and let Lundkvist play the right side on the third pair, so that’s also an option. But Smith seems an upgrade over Joel Hanley or Petrovic as the seventh defenseman, so that could mean Lundkvist has even more competition for ice time. And, in a perfect world, Bichsel will quickly prove he’s ready for the NHL, and that might mean Lundkvist is the seventh or eighth defenseman. It’s a huge year for Lundkvist in Dallas. If he wants to be a regular, he’s probably going to have to bust down the door.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @MikeHeika.