Jason Dickinson was traded to the Vancouver Canucks by the Dallas Stars on Saturday for a third-round pick (No. 73) in the 2021 NHL Draft.
The 26-year-old center, who can become a restricted free agent July 28, scored 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) in 51 games this season.
"This is an opportunity for me to thank Jason," Stars general manager Jim Nill said Saturday. "We drafted Jason, developed him, he's a great young man and his career is just starting. He's got a great future ahead of him and I just want a chance to thank him. I just got off the phone with him. I just wish him all the best. I talked to (Canucks general manager) Jim Benning, Vancouver has a special player there. He has high-end character, he's a great skater, he's competitive and he's going to be a great fit for the Vancouver Canucks."
Dallas was unlikely to protect Dickinson from the Seattle Kraken in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft presented by Upper Deck, which will be held Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SN, SN NOW).
Each NHL team can protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters (forwards/defensemen) and one goalie. Any player who has a no-move clause must agree to waive it to be exposed. The deadline for teams to submit protected lists was Saturday at 5 p.m. ET.
"Well, we're allowed to protect seven players and it's tough," Nill said. "We were lucky. We have some very good players, and, in the end, we just had to make a decision. Some of it comes down to contracts, some of it comes down to when they're going to be a restricted free agent or an unrestricted free agent. A lot of different scenarios come into play.
"It's nothing against Jason Dickinson as a player. It's the situation of all the situations thrown together. Like I said, I'm a big fan of Jason Dickinson, he's got a great career ahead of him, but in the end, we had to make a decision."
Selected by Dallas in the first round (No. 29) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Dickinson has scored 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 221 regular-season games and nine points (five goals, four assists) in 40 Stanley Cup Playoff games. He scored four points (two goals, two assists) in 27 games last season to help the Stars advance to the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games.
NHL.com staff writer Tracey Myers contributed to this report
