Stars land Joel Kiviranta on $1 million contract

The opening day of NHL Free Agency has been a good day for reunions, as multiple players have gone back to a club that they’d previously played for in their careers.

And now, the Dallas Stars have joined in on the trend, bringing back an old friend their fans will be well familiar with. Forward Joel Kiviranta has been inked to a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1 million.

According to Stars general manager Jim Nill, the club is excited to have the Finnish native back in the fold.

“We are excited to welcome Joel back to the Stars organization,” said Nill via NHL.com. “Our familiarity with Joel made signing him an easy choice, and his versatility as a player gives us some added flexibility to our lineup.”

The Stars signed Kiviranta as an undrafted free agent in July 2019, and he would make his NHL debut with the club during the 2019-20 season while also splitting time with the American Hockey League affiliate Texas Stars.

He would then join the divisional rival Colorado Avalanche after playing several years with the Stars organization, and later earned a one-year extension after scoring a career-high 16 goals in the 2024-25 season. However, he didn’t register a point in Colorado’s opening round series loss to the Stars in seven games.

Last season, he was limited to just 51 games and saw his offensive production dip significantly, scoring just three goals with six assists.

In 349 career NHL games with the Stars and Avalanche, Kiviranta has scored 38 goals with 31 assists, and added seven goals and seven assists in 56 carere playoff games.