UFA Blake Coleman Interested in Return Home, Signing With Stars

The Tampa Bay Lighting are going to be losing some faces this offseason. While the team makes a run in the Stanley Cup playoffs, summer moves aren’t far away and there will be turnover as the team can’t afford to keep everyone with so much money already committed to the 2021-22 season. Among the players the team is expected to lose is forward Blake Coleman.

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Blake Coleman (Plano, Texas) of the @NJDevils, who played youth hockey in Dallas, scored the first goal of his NHL career against the Stars. pic.twitter.com/QnEg5MSE8z

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 27, 2017

A pending unrestricted free agent, he’s not one of the team’s more expensive options, but he is a $1.8 million player who scored 31 points in 55 regular season games and, to date, has five points in 13 playoff games. He’ll be due for a decent raise, even with a flat salary cap. The question will be, how much is he looking to make good on a strong season, and how much is being comfortable going to play a role in his free agency decision?

He’s not likely to stay in Tampa and there will be questions about where he winds up. The early favorite is Dallas as reports are out there he’d like to return home. Coleman has never played for the Stars but he is from Plano, Texas and Andy Strickland is reporting, “Many believe Coleman wants to go home to Dallas.” Other reports are that he’s building a home in that area.

The Stars, meanwhile, are probably looking at signing a player like Coleman. There’s a third line opening on the team with Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano likely leaving as free agents.

Won’t Be Lack of Interest in Coleman This Summer

The fact that Coleman might want to go home to Dallas is big for the Stars if they are interested. There won’t be a shortage of teams looking at him in free agency. From the Toronto Maple Leafs to the Edmonton Oilers and a number of other franchises in between, he will be sought after.

How much more he gets paid than his affordable $1.8 million and how long a term he gets with a number of interested teams will be intriguing to watch. He’s not necessarily in that top-tier ranking of pending free agents, but there will be dominos that fall once he lands somewhere.

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