The Fabian Brunnstrom sweepstakes finally came to an end this week and the Dallas Stars emerged the winners.

After months of being courted by as many as twenty NHL teams Brunnstrom signed a two-year entry level deal with the Stars, which with bonuses could add up to $2 million per season.

Give credit to his agent, JP Barry, for stoking interest in his client, especially with a recent tour of several NHL cities where he was courted by the management of the Stars, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens and others.

I’ve previously written about Brunnstrom wondering if he’s worth the hype. Many of the teams interested in him obviously did their homework on this guy,  but one has to wonder if a player who had only 9 goals last season in Sweden, who never earned an invitation to play for their national team in the World Hockey Championships (currently being held in Halifax and Quebec City), is good enough to have earned the attention he’s received in recent weeks.

Brunnstrom has also set the bar high for his NHL debut by seeking top six forward minutes, which was the sticking point that apparently cooled some teams’ ardor in this services, which must’ve been the main selling point for him signing with Dallas.

He at least wisely opted not to make his debut in a bigger hockey center. No offense to Dallas, but he won’t face as much pressure with the Stars in their market as he would’ve had he signed with Detroit, Montreal or Toronto.

For the Stars it’s a gamble but an affordable one, even with the high number of free agents they have to re-sign this summer. At best, he’ll cost them nearly $2 million per season which means he’ll be a top player for them if he does. At worst, he’ll cost them the league maximum for entry level contracts (less than $1 million per season) if he doesn’t, a figure they could always erase from their cap by demoting him to the minors.

He’s the great mystery man of the NHL who’s yet to play a game on pro hockey’s biggest stage yet he’s apparently had the general managers of 20 NHL team panting for his services.

He’s comparable to the Loch Ness Monster, in that you’ve heard of him but never seen him (with apologies to TSN analyst Glenn Healy) except on grainy YouTube video clips.

He’s been called the next Daniel Alfredsson or Marian Hossa but at the same time is considered in some quarters an over-rated talent.

He’s considered talented enough to be a potential top-six forward in the NHL, yet had 37 points in 54 games in the Swedish Elite League.

He’s Fabian Brunnstrom and he’s apparently close to signing with an NHL team for next season.

Brunnstrom, 23, is considered a late bloomer by the standard of NHL prospects. By that age most have paid their dues in juniors or the minor leagues to make the NHL, or face a life-long career playing in the minors or in Europe, or the stark reality that a pro hockey career isn’t attainable.

And he’s not content just to sign a entry-level contract with an NHL team. No, Brunnstrom wants to sign with a team that’ll give him the best opportunity to break into the league immediately.

Until the Vancouver Canucks fired Dave Nonis as general manager they were believed not only the front-runners but also close to having him under contract, but now he and his agent are considering other clubs.

The Detroit Red Wings are believed among those on the short list for his services but they apparently won’t guarantee anything beyond the opening month of the season to evaluate his performance before committing a full-time roster spot for him.

The Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators are also believed on the list and it’s rumored the Leafs may now be the front-runners.

But is Brunnstrom worth the hype?

Most of it has appeared over the last couple of months, a period when player movement is non-existent and the start of the annual unrestricted free agent spending frenzy is still over two months away.

It’s tempting to dismiss it therefore as just so much overwrought media babbling by bored hockey writers in cities where the local NHL club is on the golf course rather than chasing the Stanley Cup, but then there’s that reported number of NHL teams interested in Brunnstrom: 20.

If that number is accurate it means two thirds of the league’s general managers, based on reports from their scouts, believe Brunnstrom has the goods to become a top-six forward in the NHL, maybe with time a scoring star.

That many general managers along with their respective scouting staffs aren't  suffering from collective insanity. They've obviously heard and seen enough of Brunnstrom to believe he has the potential to become a quality NHL player.

Given the shallow depth in star talent in this summer’s UFA pool and of course the high prices that would be paid to sign them, the opportunity to land a reasonably mature 23-year-old prospective top-six forward at an affordable three-year entry level contract appears too good to pass up.

But is he worth promising a roster spot to?

Apparently that depends on how desperate a general manager is to bolster his offensive depth, hence the reason the Canucks, Maple Leafs and Senators are among those interested in landing him.

The Red Wings don’t lack offensive punch, but since they’re also on the short list of suitors for Brunnstrom -and were rumored a couple of months ago close to signing him -one has to assume it’s because Brunnstrom really wants to play for them if they’d only give him a chance.

And the Wings do want to give him a chance, but as they aren’t hurting for scoring depth they can insist that he either prove himself worthy of a roster spot or spend time in the minors developing his skills. The other front-runners might not have that option.

Brunnstrom is expected to make a decision shortly as to which NHL team we’ll sign with. By this fall, hockey fans will discover if he was worth the speculation, and his new NHL team will discover if he was worth guaranteeing a roster spot.