Roope Hintz Wanted the Stars to Sign Laine. They Got Perron Instead

Dallas Stars forward Roope Hintz expressed his desire for the team to sign free agent Patrik Laine, noting to Ilta-Sanomat that he would have welcomed his longtime friend to Dallas. Instead, Stars general manager Jim Nill addressed the team's forward depth by signing veteran winger David Perron to a one-year, $850,000 contract on October 16.

The signing came after Matt Duchene was ruled out for three months following core muscle surgery and Oskar Bäck suffered a broken finger. The Hockey Writers' Andrew Epps argues that Dallas prioritized reliability and even-strength utility over the high-upside power-play finishing Laine offers, pointing out that Perron has played 184 games over the past three seasons compared to Laine's 75.