Matthew Seminoff is headed back to the AHL, and that move may be the clearest sign yet that the Stars are preparing to get another forward back against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Dallas reassigned Seminoff to the Texas Stars on Friday, opening a roster spot at a time when the club is dealing with a thick injury list and searching for help up front. The most likely candidates to fill that opening are Radek Faksa or David Perron.
Faksa would give Dallas exactly what it has leaned on all season: defensive reliability and penalty-killing bite. He’s been a key part of the Stars’ league-best penalty kill, and his return would deepen the middle of the ice in a meaningful way.
Perron is the other possibility, and his arrival would be a different kind of boost. The 38-year-old is entering his 20th NHL season and is still waiting to make his debut for Dallas.
The Stars are hoping he can bring secondary scoring, board work, and steady presence in the bottom six. In what could be his final NHL season, the Sherbrooke, Quebec native is also trying to stay healthy after injuries have followed him in recent years, while still providing as much as 30 points.
Even with Seminoff moved out, Dallas still has plenty of familiar names unavailable. Esa Lindell remains out on the back end, along with the aforementioned Capobianco. Up front, Matt Duchene and Oskar Back are both on long-term injured reserve.
There has at least been one recent boost: Sam Steel is back from injury. Now the Stars may be on the verge of getting another piece back, with Faksa the likeliest option to step in next.
In Other News...
Jason Robertson Extension Talks Could Get Complicated For The Stars
Jim Nill is setting up a familiar kind of Stars business in the months ahead, with contract extension talks for Jason Robertson expected to begin in mid to late December. The winger is playing out a one-year deal, and the earliest he can actually sign a new contract is Jan. 1, so there is some built-in timing to this one even before the real negotiations start.
The bigger question is how long it all takes to come together. Dallas knows it is looking at a major commitment for one of its top forwards, and the changing salary landscape is only likely to make the conversation more complicated as the season goes on. Add in the need to sort through protection details in any long-term agreement, and this one has the feel of a negotiation that could stretch well beyond the calendar flip. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Need A Response With Injuries Mounting And Old Tensions Returning
The homestand ends Thursday night at American Airlines Center, with Dallas trying to steady itself after back-to-back losses and a growing injury list that has thinned the lineup at an uncomfortable time. Columbus arrives with its own recent setback against Carolina, but the bigger backdrop here is familiar to Stars fans: Rick Bowness is back in the building, now behind the Blue Jackets bench after guiding Dallas to the 2020 Stanley Cup Final.
For a team trying to bank points at home, the timing of the rematch matters. Dallas is already juggling several injuries, and the defensive side took another hit with Kyle Capobianco expected to miss about four weeks, leaving the Stars to piece together their blue line while trying to avoid letting a difficult stretch spill over into the next part of the schedule. [Read more 🡒]
Wyatt Johnston May Be Giving The Stars The Spark They Needed
Wyatt Johnston has started to show a little more of the pop the Stars were hoping for, even in a night when the result went the wrong way. In Montreals 5-2 win over Dallas, Johnston scored his first power-play goal of the season and helped set up a Jamie Benn goal, giving the Stars a glimpse of the kind of secondary offense they need as the early part of the schedule settles in.
The power play has still been a work in progress for Dallas, but Johnstons involvement is a good sign for a unit that went 1-for-3 in the game and sits at 6-for-30 on the season. Through 11 games, Johnston has three goals and seven assists, and if he can keep driving play like this, the Stars should have reason to believe the spark is coming. [Read more 🡒]