Stars Defenseman Gets Eight-Year Contract Extension

In 2025, Harley has started off hot, racking up seven assists and putting one puck in the back of the net. His 208 minutes on the ice trail only fellow defenseman Miro Heiskanen.

He and Heiskanen make up one of the most lethal defensive duos in the league, and while Heiskanen has been the face, Harley has been the linchpin. That came to the forefront last season when Heiskanen went down with a major knee injury in late January and Harley stepped up, helping lead the Stars back to the postseason — and then the Western Conference Final — for the third consecutive year. When things got tough for the Stars defensively late in the season, Harley was a steady force guiding Dallas where it needed to be.

His accolades last season went beyond just the NHL. In the Four Nations Faceoff last spring, Harley stepped up for Team Canada after both Shea Theodore and Cale Makar went down with injuries and couldn’t participate. The then-23-year-old notched only one assist, but anyone who watched knew what they were witnessing was special. He went toe-to-toe with some of the best competition the sport has to offer and ultimately walked away as a champion.

Stars’ Cap Situation Could Inhibit the Team’s Future

The Stars and general manager Jim Nill have already handed out several lucrative contracts to some of their most impactful players. Tyler Seguin inked an eight-year, $78.8 million extension prior to the start of the 2018 season. In 2022, Roope Hintz and the team agreed to an eight-year, $67.6 million contract extension that will run through the 2030-31 campaign.

Then came last season’s contract extension bonanza, when Dallas locked up young star Wyatt Johnston on a five-year, $42 million deal and then traded for — and ultimately signed — Mikko Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract. Goalie Jake Oettinger was also given a new deal last season for eight years and $66 million.

With all that money being allocated to just several players, there have been concerns that the team will be unable to keep Jason Robertson on the left wing following his contract’s expiration at the end of this season. While Nill and company have become known for finding ways to move money around and make situations like that work in the long run, there’s always the possibility that signing Harley to this contract means Robertson could be walking out the door.