Over the last three seasons, veteran checking line center Vernon Fiddler has quietly been one of the Dallas Stars' most consistently reliable role players. He doesn't offer much offensive punch in his usual role but is a good defensive player, penalty killer and faceoff man (winning 52.2 percent of his draws this season, including 54 percent in home games).
The 34-year-old is versatile enough to move around the lineup a bit and sometimes shows a knack for getting under opponent's skin. Earlier in his career, in more of a third-line role, Fiddler posted three straight 11-goal season for the Nashville Predators and twice posted 25-plus points.
Yesterday, the Dallas Stars re-signed the unrestricted free agent forward to a two-year contract. The deal carries a $1.25 million cap hit, with a real-dollar salary of $1 million for the 2014-15 season and $1.5 million in the second year. This represents a pay cut from the $1.8 million per season that Fiddler received in a three-year deal signed in 2011 when he left the Phoenix Coyotes as an unrestricted free agent to come to Dallas.
The Fiddler re-signing appears to be another well-orchestrated move in what appears to a stellar offseason for the Stars and general manager Jim Nill. However, one player for whom this move may not immediately bode well is former first-round pick Scott Glennie.
The 23-year-old Glennie, who was chosen by the Stars eighth overall in the 2009 NHL Draft, played well enough in the second half and Calder Cup playoffs for the AHL champion Texas Stars to receive a qualifying offer from the Stars as a restricted free agent this summer. However, he is still very much on the bubble as a potential NHL prospect, especially in Dallas.
As a player entering his fourth pro season, Glennie is no longer waiver exempt if he is unable to stake down an NHL roster spot out of camp. If the Stars want to send him back to the AHL, he would have to clear waivers first.
I have to wonder if perhaps the Stars would trade Glennie's rights this summer to an NHL organization that believes he could compete for a roster spot in training camp. Yesterday, the Philadelphia Flyers traded restricted free agent forward Tye McGinn (originally a fourth-round pick and a player who has spent most of his pro career to date in the AHL) to the San Jose Sharks for a third-round pick in the 2015 Draft.