Dallas Stars re-sign Oskar Back to one-year contract

Guess who’s Back.

The Dallas Stars have signed forward Oskar Back to a one-year contract worth $775,000 in the NHL.

The 24-year-old recently finished his NHL entry-level contract with the Stars with a cap hit of $851,000. According to PuckPedia, his qualifying offer was set to be $813,750.

Back has spent the past three years with the AHL’s Texas Stars, scoring seven goals and 36 points in 59 games this past season. It was his best season to date after years of 25 and 27 points in the two previous seasons. Back had five points in each of the past two playoff runs with Texas.

Drafted 75th overall by the Stars in 2018, Back played three years with Farjestad in the SHL, recording a career-best 14 points in 52 games in 2020-21. Back also represented Sweden in various international events, including the 2017 and 2018 U-18 World Championships and the 2019 and 2020 World Juniors.

Back is a depth forward who could potentially be an injury call-up for the Stars next year but is likely to remain in the AHL on a full-time basis. A solid playmaker, Back is also a defensive center with a solid 6-foot-2, 205-pound frame.

According to CapFriendly, the Stars have $16.246 million in projected cap space for 2024-25. Joe Pavelski is not expected to play in 2024-25, while Matt Duchene, Craig Smith, Jani Hakanpaa, Derrick Pouliot, Scott Wedgewood and Chris Tanev are set to become UFAs.

In the minors, Nicholas Caamano, Frederik Karlstrom and Scott Reedy will become Group 6 UFAs, while Gavin Bayreuther and Alex Petrovic will be standard UFAs. On the RFA front, Sam Steel, Thomas Harley, Nils Lundkvist and Matt Murray are all seeking new contracts for 2024-25.

The Stars lost in six games to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final earlier this year, but are expected to challenge for the Stanley Cup in 2024-25.