Talks between Zuccarello and the Stars do not appear to be going well.

The Dallas Stars appear poised to lose a rather productive piece of their offense. 

According to multiple reports it now appears that veteran forward Mats Zuccarello and the Dallas Stars will be unable to finalize an agreement before the talented forward hits the open market. At the very least given that the National Hockey League's interview window for unrestricted free agents opens today, Zuccarello will be speaking to other teams about potential mutual interest in his services. On Saturday Stars general manager Jim Nill admitted that he expected Zuccarello to test the open market.

"We've talked a little bit with his agent, but he wants to test the free-agent market and he's got that right," said Nill as per NHL.com. "So they're going to look into the market and see what else is out there and then we will swing back and see where he's at.

"We've got an interview period that starts Sunday, so we'll start talking to other people and he'll do the same thing and we'll see where things go."

For fans hoping for a last minute deal to be worked out here, it does not sound like that is a very likely possibility at all. According to a report from Rangers insider Rick Carpiniello of The Athletic, it appears that the two sides remain at least $1 million apart on salary. 

Dallas Stars insider Sean Shapiro has seemingly corroborated the report from Carpiniello, although he was able to provide some additional details. According to Shapiro the $1 million dollar number from Carpiniello is accurate, but there are also issues with term in the negotiations as well. Additionally Shapiro added that he feels the deal the Flyers gave to veteran center Kevin Hayes has complicated matters for the Dallas Stars.

From Shapiro:

Mats Zuccarello is going to test free agency and meet with other teams. The Stars have found issues with both his asking price per year and the length of the deal he’s looking for. Kevin Hayes’ recent contract with the Philadelphia Flyers (seven years, $50 million) certainly doesn’t help matters for Dallas.

Zuccarello’s camp is looking for a large payday, which is understandable for a 32-year-old entering what is likely the final contract of his career. It’s believed Dallas looks at Zuccarello as a player worth $5 million per season, while Zuccarello has visions of $6 million or more.

The news will come as a big disappointment to Stars fans who got to see Zuccarello produce at nearly a point per game pace while a member of their organization. Although he was initially injured after being acquired at the trade deadline, Zuccarello showed he had not lost a step when he returned from injury. It seemed like the Stars were destined to re-sign him, but it appears that the money and term simply won't work for them this time around.