Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill completed another task in what has been a busy offseason like no other.
On Monday, the Stars announced that they have signed forward Roope Hintz to a three-year contract extension worth $9.45 million. Hintz was a restricted free agent whose entry contract expired following the 2019-20 season.
Hintz enjoyed a sophomore breakout year for the Stars, tallying 19 goals and 33 points in 60 games. He was instrumental in helping Dallas reach the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2000, but they ultimately fell to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
In the playoffs, Hintz scored two goals and 11 assists in 25 games. He also contributed aplenty in the Stars' 2019 playoff run, scoring eight points in 13 games. The Stars lost to the St. Louis Blues in Game 7 of double overtime in the Western Conference Semifinal.
For his career, Hintz has 28 goals and 55 points in 118 NHL games.
As Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News pointed out, Nill has been one of the busiest GMs this offseason.
The Stars didn't make any major splashes in free agency or the trade market, which is understandable when you consider that they were only two wins away from a Stanley Cup championship.
The widely successful 2019-20 season prompted Nill to remove the interim tag from Rick Bowness, who will enjoy his first full time head coaching role since 1997-98, when he coached 63 games for the New York Islanders. Bowness has coached 501 games in his career for six different teams.
It's still unclear when the 2020-21 NHL season will start because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The league was initially eyeing a Jan. 1 start date, but as time continues to pass, that appears more and more unlikely. There's a strong chance the season will see divisional realignment and a reduced regular season schedule, which is usually 82 games.
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