Stars hopeful of signing Seguin to extension prior to season

If Jim Nill has his way, there won't be any Tyler Seguin sweepstakes next summer.

That's because the Dallas Stars general manager hopes to ink his franchise center to an extension prior to the start of the coming season.

Seguin, 26, is entering the final year of his current six-year, $34.5-million pact and was eligible to sign a new deal as of July 1.

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Nill is optimistic a deal can get done prior to the Stars' season-opening game on Oct. 4 against the Arizona Coyotes.

"I hope so," Nill told Stars team reporter Mark Stepneski. "But I think I have mentioned from Day 1 that I don't want people to panic if he is not signed when the season starts.

"I think the biggest thing is we need to have a good season - get off to a good start. I hope he is signed by then, but I know if he isn't, we'll get a good year out of him and go from there. But like I said, I am hopeful we can get it done. We'll have to see."

Negotiations with Seguin's camp are ongoing, with Nill classifying the talks as complicated given the nature of a new deal.

"There are a lot of different things that go into this. There are signing bonuses, lockout protections," Nill added. "There are a lot of different angles to these negotiations that come into play. We're just continuing the dialogue and going from there."

Seguin appeared in all 82 games last season, and finished with a team-leading 40 goals, while his 78 points were one shy of captain Jamie Benn for top spot.