The Dallas Stars have signed Mason Marchment to a four-year contract worth $4.5 million annually, NHL insider Elliotte Friedman reports.
Late Bloomer Marchment Broke Out Last Season
Marchment’s path to NHL success was a long one, but he found it with the high-powered Panthers in 2021-22.
The left winger, 27 years old, went undrafted after an three-year OHL career. In 2018, he signed a two-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs, but between then and 2019-20, spent most of his time with the AHL’s Toronto Marlies and only appeared in four NHL games.
The Maple Leafs traded him to the Panthers in February, 2020. He signed a two-year contract with the Panthers in November of the same year and in the 2020-21 season played in 33 games and recorded 10 points.
In 2021-22, as part of the electrifying squad that won the Presidents’ Trophy, Marchment blew past those totals and established himself as an effective power forward. In 54 games, he scored 19 goals and added 29 assists for 47 points while posting an eye-popping plus-29 rating and averaging 14:07 of ice time.
Marchment possesses a big frame at 6-foot-4, 210 pounds and uses his size to his advantage. In addition to his 54 points, he dished out 114 hits, third among Panthers’ forwards.
In the playoffs, Marchment scored one goal, but only played in the Panthers’ first four games of the first round against the Washington Capitals. He suffered a lower body injury and was on the shelf for the rest of that round and the entirety of the second round sweep at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Marchment’s Extension Comes in The Wake of His Father’s Passing
While the first big NHL contract is a milestone for any player — especially someone like Marchment who really paid his dues in the minors — the new deal, which will keep him in Dallas through 2025-26, comes at a tough time for him and his family.
Mason’s father Bryan Marchment, a former NHL defenseman of 926 games between 1998 and 2006, died suddenly at the age of 53 earlier this month, while in Montreal preparing for the 2022 NHL Entry Draft as a scout for the San Jose Sharks. There has been an outpouring of support around the league since.
There’s little doubt Marchment will be looking to make his dad proud next season as he joins a Dallas Stars team that won 46 games and qualified for the postseason but was knocked out of the first round by the Calgary Flames in seven games.
If newly-minted Stars head coach Peter DeBoer gives Marchment the opportunities he’s earned, he should be a great player to watch in 2022-23 and beyond as the Stars look to compete in a tough Central Division.
The Stars are a bit of a team in flux, THW’s Sam Nestler wrote in May, saying “this will be anything but a boring summer.”
“There will be a new coaching staff, some extensions, some key players departing, and possibly some new faces both from the prospect pool and from around the league,” he continued. “No matter what, this will be a very different-looking Stars club when the calendar turns to October.”
Check out THW’s 2022 Free Agent Signing Tracker for up-to-date news on all player signings during NHL Free Agency.