Mats Zuccarello broke his arm in his first game upon joining the Dallas Stars last month and has not played since.

The pending free agent, who carries a $4.5 million cap hit this season, is expected to return ahead of the playoffs and Stars general manager Jim Nill said he'll wait to see how the trade deadline acquisition preforms in the postseason before opening contract talks.

"We'll wait until the season's over," Nill told the Dallas Morning News on Tuesday. "Right now, I'm in no rush with any contracts. I want to see how the team finishes, see what the player is. That stuff really kind of happens after the playoffs."

Zuccarello had a goal and an assist in Stars debut against the Chicago Blackhawks, bringing his season totals to 12 goals and 39 points in 47 games. He returned to the ice on March 8 for an optional skate, but Nill said his return is still weeks away.

"He'll start being around the team more now," Nill said. "He's a couple weeks in and the next week or 10 days he'll start skating a bit more."

The Stars traded a conditional second-round pick this year and 2020 conditional third-round pick to acquire Zuccarello from the New York Rangers. The second-round pick this year will become a first if the Stars reach the Western Conference final (with Zuccarello playing in at least 50 per cent of the games in the first two rounds), while the third-round pick will become a first in 2020 if the Stars re-sign the 31-year-old.

Despite having only seen him in a Stars uniform once, Nill said the Stars are well aware of the type of player Zuccarello is.

"I've heard about him," Nill said. "He was actually a guy we tried to sign in Detroit coming off the Olympics. I kind of knew him pretty good anyways. As far as off the ice, high-end character. You love his energy. He's kind of a magnet. He's just a hockey player. He loves hockey. He lives and breathes hockey."

The Stars (36-28-5) sit in the top wild-card spot in the Western Conference, owning a three point lead over the Minnesota Wild, who currently sit outside the playoff picture.