Joel Kiviranta re-joins Stars on one-year contract

The Dallas Stars have brought back forward Joel Kiviranta on a one-year, $1 million contract.

Undrafted out of Vantaa, Finland, Kiviranta debuted in the Liiga in 2013 before heading to North America to join the Stars organization in 2019. He famously etched his name into Dallas playoff lore as a “Black Ace” during the 2020 Stanley Cup bubble. Kiviranta surprised everyone by scoring a Game 7 hat trick – including the series-clinching overtime winner – against the Colorado Avalanche to send the Stars to the Western Conference Final. The Stars ultimately lost the title to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After leaving Dallas, Kiviranta found himself in Colorado over the past few years. Despite finding a groove with a career-best 16 goals and 23 points for the Avalanche in 2024-25, Kiviranta battled concussions and lower-body injuries throughout the 2025-26 campaign. He ultimately managed just three goals and nine points in 51 games while playing a diminished bottom-six role.

Kiviranta boasts career totals of 38 goals and 69 points over 349 regular-season games, along with 14 points in 56 career playoff appearances. Internationally, the gritty forward also took home gold with Finland at the 2019 IIHF World Championship, and recently captured a bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The Stars still have around $10.6 million in available cap space. The team added some extra depth, signing a handful of players bound for the AHL. They also traded Mavrik Bourque and Ilya Lyubushkin to Nashville to clear some cap space, potentially allowing for Jason Robertson to sign a contract extension with the club. The team has not offered new contracts yet for UFA forwards Jamie Benn, Adam Erne, Michael Bunting or Nathan Bastian.

Despite putting together a 112-point regular season to finish second in the Central Division, the Stars’ 2025-26 campaign ended in disappointment following a frustrating first-round playoff exit against Minnesota.