As is the case in everything, 2020 continues to have no chill — and that includes the Dallas Stars’ offseason. The NHL draft starts next Tuesday (October 6th) with round one followed the next day with rounds two through seven, all conducted via Zoom so as to ensure everyone’s safety.
Free agency opens Friday, October 9th — barely 72 hours after the draft starts. It’s a timeline that is quite scrunched from the usual. We generally have at least a week between the draft and free agency to identify the needs of the Stars and who they might target, after potentially months of offseason after the regular season ends (when they don’t qualify for the postseason) or once the team is eliminated from the playoffs.