- Joel Kiviranta signed a one-year, $1 million contract to return to the Dallas Stars
- The forward spent his first five NHL seasons in Dallas before three years with Colorado
- Read below for GM Jim Nill’s take and a look back at Kiviranta’s Game 7 heroics
Joel Kiviranta is a Dallas Star again.
The Stars signed the 30-year-old forward to a one-year, $1 million contract on Wednesday, bringing him back to the city where his NHL career started. Kiviranta played his first five seasons in Dallas before three years with Colorado.
Stars general manager Jim Nill explained why the fit was an easy one when Dallas announced the deal.
“We are excited to welcome Joel back to the Stars organization. Our familiarity with Joel made signing him an easy choice, and his versatility as a player gives us some added flexibility to our lineup.”
Dallas fans know exactly what Kiviranta can do when the lights are brightest. In the 2020 Edmonton bubble, he scored a hat trick in Game 7 of the second round against Colorado, capping the night with the overtime winner that sent the Stars to the Western Conference Final.
He only dressed that night because Andrew Cogliano was ruled out, and he became the first rookie in NHL history to record a Game 7 hat trick. Take a look back at that performance:
The version Dallas gets back is a reliable bottom-six penalty killer. Kiviranta posted nine points (three goals, six assists) in 51 games for Colorado last season and has averaged more than a minute of shorthanded ice time per game for four straight years.
His career line sits at 69 points in 349 regular-season games, with 14 points in 56 playoff contests. He also won a bronze medal with Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics alongside Stars teammates Miro Heiskanen and Roope Hintz.
Now he leaves the Avalanche to rejoin the very team he once knocked out, slotting into a lineup that Nill has spent the offseason quietly reshaping. The Stars land a cheap, familiar winger who already owns a permanent place in their playoff history.
