The New York Islanders should offer sheet Dallas Stars’ 23-year-old centerman Mavrik Bourque.
After re-signing Matthew Duchene to a four-year deal worth $4.5 million annually, the Dallas Stars only have a projected $4.955 million in available cap space. They have five unrestricted free agents – Jamie Benn, Mikael Granlund, Evgenii Dadonov, Brendan Smith, and Cody Ceci – and two restricted free agents – Bourque and Nils Lundqvist.
Assuming one of the depth forwards signs for the league minimum of $775,000, Benn returns on a modest $3 million deal, and Granlund re-signs at $5 million annually, the Stars would be $3.82 million over the cap before signing Bourque.
They won’t be able to sign them all, and Bourque could be the odd-man out given their needs.
Bourque, drafted 30th overall in 2020, recorded 25 points (11 goals, 14 assists) in 73 games this past season, his rookie campaign. He played 12:41 minutes per game, primarily on the club’s third line.
In 2023-24, his final season in the AHL, he recorded 77 points in 71 games (26 goals, 51 assists).
To determine the value of an offer sheet, you divide the salary by either five years or the term of the contract, using whichever is lower.
Here’s a story going more in-depth on the process:
Islanders & Offer Sheet Compensation LevelsThe NHL has released the new compensation thresholds for offer sheets ahead of the 2025 offseason:
A reminder: A player must sign an offer sheet.
Compensation Thresholds for 2025 Offer Sheets
Assuming the Islanders do not risk a future first-round pick in an offer sheet, the only relevant compensation levels in the 2025 offseason are:
- Below $1,544,424 AAV (no draft pick compensation)
- $1,544,425 – $2,340,037 (2026 third-round pick)
- $2,340,038 – $4,680,076 (2026 second-round pick)
As a reminder, a team must forfeit its own draft picks in an offer sheet.
Of course, the Islanders sent their 2026 second-round pick to the Chicago Blackhawks on June 29, 2023, alongside Josh Bailey.
However, similar to how the Blues reacquired their own 2025 second by sending a 2026 second and a 2025 third to the Penguins in exchange for their original 2025 second and a 2026 fifth, the Islanders could offer Chicago the 42nd pick in 2025 along with a future late-round pick to get their 2026 second rounder back.
The Bourque Comparison
A Bourque offer sheet would be similar to what Philip Broberg signed with the St. Louis Blues in 2024, which was a two-year deal at the then-maximum AAV within the second-round pick compensation tier – $4,580,917.
For Bourque, this would be a contract worth $4,680,076 annually for any term of five years or less.
The Broberg-Holloway-Bourque Parallel
While offer sheets are rare, the parallels between Dylan Holloway, who was also signed to an offer sheet in 2024 by the Blues, Broberg, and Bourque are uncanny.
Broberg and Holloway were on the powerhouse Edmonton Oilers, stuck behind deep rosters that limited their upside.
They then joined a Blues lineup that offered significantly higher ice time than Edmonton’s while paying them double or triple what they were previously getting offered.
For Bourque, it could be the same story with the Islanders, as New York just traded away center Brock Nelson, and may also move center Jean-Gabriel Pageau. They could use an NHL-ready, young forward.
Potential Fit With the Islanders
While Bourque developed as a center, he would likely start his time with the Islanders on the wing, a position he saw time at with the Stars in 2024–25.
The Islanders lack right-wing talent, especially if Mathew Barzal returns to center, so putting a right-handed Bourque on the second-line wing would make sense.
His back-to-back 20+ goal AHL seasons show he knows how to find the back of the net, but he is better known as a crafty playmaker with speed and aggression, something that would fit well alongside Barzal.
With general manager Mathieu Darche wanting to bring speed and energy to the Islanders’ lineup, putting together a second line of Anthony Duclair, Barzal, and Bourque would do just that at an affordable cost while getting younger.
In the long run, Bourque could move back to center or stay on the wing, as the Islanders lack right-wing depth both in the NHL and the prospect pool.
The Granlund Dilemma
While it might seem easy to let Granlund walk, that decision is not so simple.
He posted 21 points (seven goals, 14 assists) in 31 regular-season games and added 10 points (five goals, five assists) in 18 playoff games for Dallas in 2024–25.
From the time he was acquired on Feb. 1 through the end of the regular season, Granlund ranked in the top six among Stars skaters in goals, primary assists, and total points. In the playoffs, he ranked in the top three in goals and in the top four in points.
Granlund also has strong personal ties to the team, as he is Finnish and close with fellow countrymen Mikko Rantanen, Miro Heiskanen, Roope Hintz, and Esa Lindell.
While keeping him may put the team in a bind, the Stars are in win-now mode, and letting him leave, especially if he’s willing to sign below market value, is hard to imagine.
Could Dallas Create Cap Space?
Now, let’s say Dallas somehow fully offloads both Matt Dumba and Ilya Lyubushkin’s contracts that combine for $7 million against the cap and replace them with league-minimum salaries; they would have just $1.63 million to sign Bourque, still under a 20-player roster.
From there, the only possible salaries the Stars could shed to fit Bourque at $4.68 million would be Wyatt Johnston’s recently signed $8.4 million AAV deal, or Jason Robertson’s $7.75 million AAV, assuming nobody with full trade protection waives.
Robertson’s name has flown around in trade rumors, so it is possible he is moved, but even then, Dallas would be unlikely to find a way to fit Bourque at $4.68 million without sacrificing other areas of the lineup.
While the Stars could move mountains and oceans to ensure they don’t lose Bourque to an offer sheet, it is hard to imagine they prioritize a 23-year-old with 74 career NHL games over another defenseman or two – the team’s biggest weakness.
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This story was written by Stefen Rosner and Michael Ostrower.
Photo: Robert Edwards-Imagn Images
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