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The Dallas Stars announced their final roster cuts this morning, which puts a final note on the preseason as the Stars prepare for their season opener Friday night. Each of the four players who did not make the team will be assigned to the Texas Stars. The cuts, as well as analysis as to why they were cut, are as follows:
D Severin Blindenbacher: Played a great preseason, by all accounts, and if the situation were any different he would've made this team. But if you were to keep him on the roster, the question would be: who do you get rid of? Stephane Robidas, Mark Fistric, Nicklas Grossman, Trevor Daley and Karlis Skrastins all have cemented their spot on the defense. And the Stars were not about to send Niskanen down after signing him to a 2-year, two million dollar contract. So realistically, the only way Blender would have made the roster would be if he replaced Jeff Woywitka, but Blindenbacher proved he is worth more to the team than just a healthy scratch. Put it all in perspective, and placing him in the minors for the time being was the only option for the Stars. He'll definitely be up at the first sign of defensive injury, though.
C Aaron Gagnon: As much as we loved his play over the last few weeks, the reality is there is no spot for a center at this time. To break into the roster, Gagnon would've needed a Jamie Benn like performance, and unfortunately he didn't produce as much in the final two preseason games. This is a good thing for Texas Stars fans, as Gagnon is a huge part of their team. But like Blindenbacher, Gagnon is top priority for a call-up during the year.
D Philip Larsen: I personally love Larsen, but he didn't show as much progress as I think the Stars were hoping for during the preseason. This is not at all a bad thing. In fact, an extended stint in the AHL is exactly according to his developmental plan. The youngster will benefit from the minors in the way that Mark Fistric did, and Matt Niskanen didn't.
RW Tomas Vincour: The plan all along for Vincour was for him to play for the Texas Stars this year, no matter his training camp performance. The reason why he stuck around so long with the big club was because he was playing so well...and I would bet that the coaching staff wanted to see his chemistry with the NHLers more because they expect him to be a NHL regular in a season or two. Trust us when we say that Vincour will be back sooner than you might think.
Along with the roster cuts, the Stars announced that Tom Wandell has been recalled from his AHL conditioning stint. Wandell played Sunday for the Texas Stars, and apparently is well enough to be with the team as the season starts.
Final roster after the jump...
So your final roster looks like this:
Forwards:
Krys Barch
Jamie Benn
Fabian Brunnstrom
Adam Burish
Loui Eriksson
Brenden Morrow
James Neal
Steve Ott
Toby Petersen
Mike Ribeiro
Brad Richards
Brandon Segal
Brian Sutherby
Tom Wandell
DEFENSEMEN (7)
Trevor Daley
Mark Fistric
Nicklas Grossman
Matt Niskanen
Stephane Robidas
Karlis Skrastins
Jeff Woywitka
GOALTENDERS (2)
Kari Lehtonen
Andrew Raycroft
Press release after the jump....
FRISCO, Tex. -- The Dallas Stars announced today that the club has made the following roster moves to its 2010 NHL roster:
Assigned to Texas Stars (AHL):
D Severin Blindenbacher
C Aaron Gagnon
D Philip Larsen
RW Tomas Vincour
In addition, the Stars also announced that center Tom Wandell has been recalled from his conditioning assignment with the Texas Stars. Wandell played in Sunday's AHL exhibition game between Texas and the Houston Aeros, going scoreless.
The moves give Dallas the maximum of 23 players for its NHL roster (attached).
The Stars will open the regular season opener this Friday, October 8 at New Jersey (6:00 pm, FOX Sports Southwest, Sports Radio 1310 The Ticket). The team will practice on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 10:30 am at Dr Pepper Arena in Frisco (media availability at approximately 11:30 am each day) before leaving for New Jersey on Thursday afternoon.