Dallas Stars Cap Space: Examining the Stars' salary in the off-season

The Dallas Stars went all the way to the Western Conference Final last year and look to build off of that.

The Stars have already made some moves to improve their team this season and now just have a shade over $582,000 in cap space, which means they likely won't make another move.

Although Dallas doesn't have much cap space, they also could trade some players to clear room if they want to make a move,

Dallas Stars' off-season moves

The Dallas Stars kicked off the off-season re-signing Evgenii Dadanov and then in free agency, signed Matt Duchene, Craig Smith, and Sam Steel. They also re-signed defenseman Joel Hanley to be the seventh defenseman and traded Colin Miller - who was the odd man out on the D-core.

The big move was signing Matt Duchene to a one-year deal after he was bought out by the Predators.

"Matt was a player we had our eye on entering free agency," said GM Jim Nill (via NHL.com). "What he brings to our lineup goes well beyond his stats. A veteran of 14 NHL seasons, he's a proven point producer who can lead by example. We're looking forward to having him join our strong core of leaders."

Part of the reason why Dallas wanted to sign Duchene was to help their offense, which at times did struggle. The Stars also lost Max Domi in free agency, so adding the likes of Duchene, Steel, and Smith will help their offense.

"I think we've improved the team," Nill said. "We've added a lot of speed and we've added a lot of scoring. There's no secret to what Matt Duchene brings. He's a puck possession guy, he's got great speed. He's good on the power play. So, I think we've improved our game that way. It really solidifies our top nine.

"Craig Smith has been a proven scorer in the league, veteran, good leadership, he's a good skater also, good speed. Sam Steel, the same thing. We saw him against Minnesota," Nill continued. "He was a first-round pick of Anaheim. He's trying to find his way and we think he's starting to show he's getting better and better. He's a young guy on a good contract."

However, the big move Dallas still needs to make is re-signing RFA Ty Dellandrea who will likely cost a few million. How the Dallas Stars will make the cap fit is to be seen, but it is expected that Dellandrea will re-sign at some point.