NHL Trade Deadline 2023: Stars Acquire Max Domi From Blackhawks
Amidst the Chicago Blackhawks’ selling spree, forward Max Domi was officially traded to the Dallas Stars late Thursday night, coinciding with his 28th birthday.
Max Domi, son of Tie, is joining the Stars along with goaltender Dylan Wells in exchange for a 2025 second-round pick and goaltender Anton Khudobin, who hasn’t played this season due to a hip injury. No salary was retained in the deal.
“We’re excited to add a player of Max’s calibre to our lineup,” said Stars general manager Jim Nill. “His offence this season speaks for itself, but he’ll also provide energy, grit and a veteran presence as we continue our push to the postseason.”
In a corresponding move, the Stars have sent Wells and forwards Fredrik Karlstrom, Fredrik Olofsson and netminder Matt Murray (not the Toronto Maple Leafs netminder) to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Texas Stars.
Ironically, Dallas and Chicago squared off at the United Center Thursday, with Domi scratched for trade-related reasons, as the Stars came away with a 5-2 victory. That meant the 28-year-old didn’t have to walk far post-game to join his new teammates.
Domi, an impending unrestricted free agent, features a $3 million cap hit in 2022-23, leaving Dallas just $455,586 in cap space, according to CapFriendly. And it doesn’t appear that general manager Jim Nill plans to make another notable addition ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline.
Even so, adding a former 20-goal scorer to the mix figures to be an impactful move for the club’s forward group. Not only should it add another layer of offence at 5-on-5, but it could also prove beneficial on the power play.
Despite playing on a rebuilding Blackhawks squad, Domi has 18 goals – scoring eight with the man advantage – and 49 points while averaging a career-high 18:18 of ice time across 60 games this season. He led all Chicago skaters in goals and points, ranking tied for first with Patrick Kane in power-play points (18).
The Winnipeg, MB native made a considerable impact during last season’s playoffs following a mid-season trade to the Carolina Hurricanes, notching three goals and six points in 14 contests, potting the game-winner against the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of the opening-round series.
Dallas’ forward group now features a plethora of talent on the left side, including Jason Robertson, captain Jamie Benn, Mason Marchment and Domi. Head coach Peter DeBoer could start the former Blackhawk on the fourth line or position him on his offwing alongside Marchment and Tyler Seguin on the third line.
The Stars will also likely utilize the 5-foot-10 lefty on the second power-play unit, joining Marchment, Seguin, Wyatt Johnston and Ryan Suter. That will likely eat into Evgenii Dadonov’s playing time. He is, however, without a power-play goal this season.
At 33-16-13 with a Central-Division-leading 79 points, Dallas will look to increase its lead in a showdown against the Colorado Avalanche Saturday afternoon, with Domi expected to make his Stars debut.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @ThomasHall85
Photo: Mahanga. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.