The only remaining drama to be had over the next five weeks before clubs assemble for training camp are a number of young restricted free agents who did not have arbitration rights and are looking for new deals.

We will look at a number of them over the next few days, but we will start with defenseman Thomas Harley of the Dallas Stars.

The big 22-year-old had a breakout year with the Stars (15 goals, 32 assists) after splitting time between the AHL and NHL the last three seasons and could be a dark horse for Team Canada for the 2026 Olympics if he has another good season.

In a perfect world, Stars GM Jim Nill might want to follow the path that Ottawa did with Jake Sanderson and Minnesota did with Brock Faber and lock up Harley on an eight-year deal, Dallas does not have the cap space to accommodate what Harley would be looking for on a long-term extension.

The likely course for Nill will be for the Stars to bridge Harley for a lesser amount for two-or-three years, when the contracts of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin drop off and the salary cap goes up, but the blueliner has to be on board with that.

more to come

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