Guess who is returning.
A one-year contract worth $775,000 has been inked by the Dallas Stars with forward Oskar Back in the National Hockey League.
The 24-year-old recently concluded his NHL entry-level contract with the Stars, which included a cap charge of $851,000. His qualifying offer was $813,750, as per PuckPedia.
Back has been a member of the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League (AHL) for the past three years. This season, he contributed seven goals and 36 points in 59 games. It was his most successful season to date, following seasons in which he scored 25 and 27 points, respectively. Five points were scored by Back during each of the previous two postseason trips with Texas.
In 2018, the Stars selected Back as the 75th overall pick. He spent three years with Farjestad in the SHL, where he achieved a career-best 14 points in 52 games in 2020-21. Back also represented Sweden in a variety of international competitions, such as the 2017 and 2018 U-18 World Championships and the 2019 and 2020 World Juniors.
Back is a depth forward who could potentially be an injury call-up for the Stars next year but is likely to remain in the AHL on a full-time basis. A competent playmaker, Back is also a defensive center with a solid 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame.
According to CapFriendly, the Stars have $16.246 million in projected cap space for 2024-25. Joe Pavelski is not expected to play in 2024-25, while Matt Duchene, Craig Smith, Jani Hakanpaa, Derrick Pouliot, Scott Wedgewood and Chris Tanev are scheduled to become UFAs.
In the minors, Nicholas Caamano, Frederik Karlstrom and Scott Reedy will become Group 6 UFAs, while Gavin Bayreuther and Alex Petrovic will be standard UFAs. On the RFA front, Sam Steel, Thomas Harley, Nils Lundkvist and Matt Murray are all pursuing new contracts for 2024-25.
The Stars lost in six games to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final earlier this year, but are expected to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 2024-25.
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