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Welcome to DLLS Dallas Stars weekly! Every Monday, I recap news, rumors, notes, and articles from the previous week.
Let’s get into it.
We will miss you, Cap
The Stars will be without captain Jamie Benn for at least one month.
On Thursday, Stars GM Jim Nill announced that Benn was undergoing surgery to repair a collapsed lung suffered in a preseason game against Minnesota.
Benn had successful surgery on Thursday and remained in the hospital over the weekend for observation. The 36-year-old is shut down for at least four weeks, meaning no skating, training, or even flying. After that, he is expected to start skating and taking light contact.
With his age and the importance of his being 100 percent healthy later in the season, don’t be surprised to see Benn miss more time than that. I would not expect to see him in a game until mid-November, maybe later. But also keep in mind that Benn is the definition of a hockey player. He will do everything he can to get back as soon as possible. It’s just about the doctors clearing him at that point.
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In the meantime… There is a roster spot up for grabs…
Roster moves galore
Speaking of spots… the Stars made some roster moves on Sunday.
Here is the full (updated) list from the team:
The reason I say updated is that the initial list included Arttu Hyry among those sent down to the AHL. But Stars PR quickly corrected that, telling us that Hyry is remaining with the NHL club for now. More on that in a second.
The notable moves here include 2024 first-round pick Emil Hemming being sent to Texas rather than back to the Barrie Colts of the OHL. Hemming could still be sent down, but because he is eligible to turn pro early due to his draft location, this will be interesting to watch in the next week or so.
Personally, I think Hemming should play another year of junior hockey. I don’t think turning pro would hurt his development, but it just feels too early.
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Hemming was mostly a floater in the prospect games against Detroit and has looked overwhelmed during NHL camp. And that’s okay, he is 19 years old and has not played a professional game yet. Dallas believes he has a high ceiling, so why not let him go back to the OHL and dominate like Logan Stankoven did? It worked for Stankoven, who I think was a few steps ahead of where Hemming is right now. That’s my vote.
If Hemming does turn pro and plays the season with the Texas Stars, I hope he can develop confidence at that level. I just worry it may be a bit too soon for him.
Trey Taylor was also sent down, as expected. But keep your eye on the former NCAA defenseman… he has continued to impress and feels like one of the first call-ups when Dallas needs a blueliner. If he can play his off (right) side, he may even be a long-term solution next to Lian Bichsel or another lefty with the NHL club.
The other ones that stood out to me were Cross Hanas and Antoine Bibeau, who were both released from their respective professional tryouts (PTO). Hanas is a local kid, which was a fun story to follow during camp, especially when he got into a preseason game at home. But he also got hurt in that game and hasn’t skated since. Hanas can still sign with Texas, but as of now, he is free to sign anywhere.
Bibeau was in the conversation, at least to us, as a backup option to Rémi Poirier in Cedar Park. He played well in Denver on Saturday, too.
Dallas also placed a few players on waivers Sunday: Kole Lind, Antonio Stranges, and Kyle Capobianco. All three require waivers to be sent down to Texas, and I expect each to clear and be reassigned.
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But more importantly for the NHL team, this simplifies the competition for a roster spot even more.
With just 10 days remaining between now and opening night, the Stars have five names battling for two roster spots: the 7th defenseman and the 13th forward.
Keep in mind, the Stars are still tight against the cap, so they could opt to begin the year with only 12 forwards and/or six defensemen. But going on an opening road trip to Winnipeg and Colorado, I would be surprised if they don’t leave themselves a little wiggle room.
For the 13th forward spot, the battle is down to Hyry, 30-year-old Adam Erne (PTO), and Justin Hryckowian. This battle could either be for a game one healthy scratch — if Dallas opts to use the leftover fourth-liner (between Oskar Bäck, Colin Blackwell, and Nathan Bastian) rather than one of these three — or for an opening-night lineup spot. But either way, it is an important one.
There are two routes to this, in my opinion. I feel Hyry is third on this list. He has gotten better as camp has gone on, but he hasn’t exactly stood out. Plus, he is a center or right winger, which the Stars have plenty of. However, coach Glen Gulutzan does like his wingers to play their off-wing, so don’t look past him just yet.
The battle between Erne and Hryckowian comes down to this… Do they want a young former AHL rookie of the year who they believe has a bright future with this team? Or do they want to rely on a player with nearly 400 NHL games under his belt to handle to pressure of opening a season against two Stanley Cup contenders? Keep in mind, this is really just until Benn returns from his injury, then either player would probably need to be sent down or moved.
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If I had to pick, I am leaning toward Hyrckowian.
I believe it is more important to give him this chance because I think Erne would only be a temporary placeholder. I don’t think Erne would take any other NHLers’ roster spots, so really, his role would be to fill in for Benn while building a good resume to try to find a home once Dallas runs out of space. I would imagine teams have been or will be calling, as Erne has looked revitalized and pretty solid after successful hip surgery.
Hryckowian seems to have the leg up in the coaches’ minds, too, at least in recent practices.
For the 7th defenseman spot, I think it’s Alexander Petrovic’s to lose.
Vladislav Kolyachonok has looked okay in the preseason. He had a rough game on Saturday, especially with the puck. While he brings a more dynamic, puck-mover option, Dallas already has plenty of that. Miro Heiskanen, Thomas Harley, Nils Lundkvist, and even Bichsel and Esa Lindell are pretty good at getting the puck up the ice, with the first three being better than average at jumping up in the play.
What the Stars need is size, physicality, and consistency. Sounds like Petrovic to me.
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Petrovic deserves to be on the NHL team after his seamless transition the past two seasons from AHL regular season to NHL playoffs. He is a veteran, so it shouldn’t hurt him too much if he has to sit out for stretches. He can spell Lundkvist or Ilya Lyubushkin, or anyone really, when they are struggling or need a reset, and he gives the team an option when they have an injury or simply want a bigger lineup against certain opponents.
If Dallas opts to keep Petrovic up, and doesn’t keep eight blueliners, Kolyachonok would need to clear waivers before being sent down. I’m not sure he does, so we may see him in another sweater in October.
More top players in Victory Green
The NHL continued its countdown of the Top 50 Players Right Now, and there was some more victory green to be seen.
Heiskanen came in at No. 21, a very respectable number for a guy who will probably never win the award for best defenseman. Heiskanen is among the best in the game and deserves to be on this list.
Will there ever be a defensive defenseman award? If so, he and Lindell may have to fight over it.
And unsurprisingly, superstar winger Mikko Rantanen also made the list. Rantanen ranked No. 13, just above Jack Eichel and Auston Matthews. That’s pretty good, eh?
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Rantanen could have a huge year in Dallas. Actually, he should. He has all of the turbulence from last season put behind him, he has had an entire summer and now preseason to get acclimated and bond with teammates — especially with all the weddings going on — and he was already elite last spring when his life was chaotic.
Can Rantanen get 100 points? I think he will at least come close. The real question I am excited about is, who will he play with?
Things change, and that’s the way it is
Yes, I am quoting Tupac. No, I will recite the lyrics, I promise.
There has been no shortage of changes around Dallas since they lost Game 5 to the Edmonton Oilers. New coaches, new players, new systems, new attitude. Let’s talk about the systems.
Under Gulutzan, Dallas will have energy on and off the ice. That’s something Gulutzan wants to bring to the group. They will also (hopefully) play more freely. And that’s by design, too. Make more plays. Have more options. Be a hockey player. That’s the approach for Gulutzan and his staff.
While Pete DeBoer was a very good hockey coach, his teams could play with a bit of rigidity at times. Some believe it’s why they have all eventually hit a wall in the playoffs. I think that’s a pretty good analysis if you look at the three Western Conference Finals Dallas played in under DeBoer…
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Gulutzan wants to give his team structure and foundation, but then let them use their hockey sense and make plays. I like the combo so far.
Stuff from the show
Dallas Stars senior staff writer Mike Heika joined to talk all things Stars!
The DLLS Stars crew had the first emergency pod of the season to talk about Jamie Benn’s injury!
George Richards broke down the latest on the Florida Panthers!
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