Stars hoping to get deal done soon with Tyler Seguin

The Dallas Stars are intent on avoiding their own John Tavares situation.

General manager Jim Nill has engaged in long-term contract discussions with star centre Tyler Seguin — one of the potential jewels of the 2019 unrestricted free-agent class.

“We’ve had continued dialogue,” Nill told Dallas Stars’ reporter Mark Stepneski. “They’ve got where they think they should be and we’ve presented where we think we should be, and we just continue to discuss.”

Etching out an agreement sooner than later would surely be in the best interest of the Stars, who lose more and more leverage so long as Seguin’s contract status remains unresolved. If they fail to iron out an agreement this summer, each checkpoint gives Seguin further reason to entertain other options — and the Stars certainly want to avoid the same road that Lou Lamoriello and the New York Islanders went down with Tavares.

There are many benefits to playing in Dallas, but one aspect that could prove to dissuade Seguin from committing what remains of his prime seasons is the franchise’s consecutive sixth-place finishes in the division since finishing with the Western Conference’s best record in 2015-16.

Significant improvements in terms of on-ice talent haven’t necessarily been made, so what if the Stars miss the playoffs for a third straight year?

Dallas has been rumoured to be in on Erik Karlsson, who would surely improve the roster under new head coach Jim Montgomery. But as Stepneski also reported, talks with the Senators star rover have died down.

So if a deal doesn’t get done, and the team bangs its head on the wall for another season with the same cast of characters and same slate of concerns, perhaps the skilled centre will consider the options that would come available to him at season’s end.

Dallas is entering its sixth season with Seguin and has just one playoff series win to show for it.

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