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Another season, another unfortunate injury setback for veteran forward Tyler Seguin.
However, due to recent changes to the NHL’s collective bargaining agreement, how his long-term absence impacts the Dallas Stars’ salary-cap picture could be a little different from the last time Seguin missed significant time to injury.
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There was a sense of deja vu when the Stars announced Wednesday that Seguin suffered a torn ACL in his right knee, because it came almost one year to the day that the team announced his 2024-25 season was in jeopardy following hip surgery.
“We didn’t get great news today,” Stars coach Glen Gulutzan told reporters Wednesday.
Seguin suffered the latest injury during Tuesday’s game against the New York Rangers, when his leg got caught up with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov while falling awkwardly to the ice. He needed assistance getting to the visitors dressing room at Madison Square Garden.
Gulutzan indicated that Seguin will be sidelined for months — “probably the rest of the season,” he later added — and where exactly the recovery timeline ends up will have a significant bearing on what the Stars can do to make up for his loss before the March 6 trade deadline.
Either way, they’re eligible for some relief under the league’s rules covering long-term injuries. The only question is whether it’s $3.82 million or the full $9.85 million on Seguin’s contract because of a revision to Section 50.10(d)(iii) in the recent CBA extension.
Under the new rules, the Stars can only replace Seguin’s full cap hit if he’s ruled out for the entirety of the regular season and playoffs. That would require him to be moved to season-ending LTI, which is irreversible. In the event he can play again before the end of the postseason, Dallas is limited to spending an amount equal to last season’s average salary on a replacement, which would be $3.82 million.
Seguin is due to consult with doctors before a firm recovery and return-to-play timeline is established, according to a league source.
With the Stars in win-now mode and off to a solid start — they were 17-5-5 heading into Wednesday’s game at the New Jersey Devils — they are expected to again be a big player leading into the trade deadline.
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Last season, they added Mikko Rantanen in a blockbuster trade with the Carolina Hurricanes on March 7, after picking up Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci from the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 1.
Under the previous rules, they made the finances work for those trades by having Seguin, Miro Heiskanen and Nils Lundkvist on LTI.
Seguin managed to work his way back from last year’s hip surgery with a diligent recovery program, playing in the Stars’ final regular-season game on April 16 and another 18 games in the playoffs during their third consecutive run to the Western Conference final.
The early indications suggest he likely won’t be in a position to do so again.
“He’s a great leader for us, and he’s a great pro,” said Gulutzan, in his first year since returning to the Stars bench. “He’s been a guy, quite frankly, that I’ve been maybe the most impressed with, just his leadership ability, when I’ve come in here.
“This is tough news for our whole group.”