"Dallas is an underrated team, and this is a great team and an organization," Hanzal said. "I always loved to play against them because they were working really hard. They had some skill players, and I believe this is a winning team. That was the reason I chose Dallas."
Hanzal, 30, had 39 points (20 points, 19 assists) and won 56.4 percent of his faceoffs in 71 games with the Minnesota Wild and Arizona Coyotes last season. He was traded to Minnesota on Feb. 27 after playing nine seasons in Arizona.
Hanzal said he spoke with coach Ken Hitchock on Saturday and expects to play a shutdown role and on the penalty kill, and add a net-front presence on the power play.
Selected by the Coyotes with the No. 17 pick of the 2005 NHL Draft, Hanzal has 326 points (121 goals, 205 assists) in 628 NHL games and 13 points (five goals, eight assists) in 28 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including one point (a goal) in five playoff games last season.
"Martin is a very detailed player who competes at a high level," Stars general manager Jim Nill said. "He is one of the League's best centermen in the faceoff circle and his complete set of abilities will improve us in several facets of the game."
