The Stars are not guaranteed to get a return on their investment in Mats Zuccarello.
The forward, who Dallas acquired from the Rangers for a second- and third-round pick at the trade deadline this year, will test the open market, general manager Jim Nill said Friday, via team's website.
Zuccarello helped the Stars get to the Western Conference semifinals where they lost to the eventual champions, the Blues, in seven games.
He scored a goal and added two assists in the regular season for Dallas as he suffered an injury and missed most of his time with the team recovering.
But Zuccarello was a good player for the Stars in the postseason, scoring four goals and adding seven assists in 13 games. Dallas was hoping to re-sign him and still has a chance in free agency, they'll just have to compete with other teams.
"We've talked a little bit with his agent, but he wants to test the free-agent market and he's got that right," Nill said at the 2019 NHL Draft. "So they're going to look into the market and see what else is out there and then we will swing back and see where he's at.
"We've got an interview period that starts Sunday, so we'll start talking to other people and he'll do the same thing and we'll see where things go."
There will certainly be a market for Zuccarello as he is a top-six forward who has a ton of experience both in the regular and postseason.
Dallas will do all it can to re-sign him because they absolutely need his scoring ability.
We'll see who else pursues him though.