If you think Dallas Stars fans were surprised Wednesday when they heard the news about Derek Roy's shoulder surgery, just imagine the reaction of the Buffalo Sabres fans.
After all, Roy had struggled through last season. Although much of his drop in production can probably be attributed to a recovery from a nasty quad tendon tear, would he have had been any better had the nagging shoulder problems been addressed earlier?
Well at least according to general manager Darcy Reiger, the shoulder injury was not a concern.
That is correct. We are very confident in the decision by our medical staff. As I said, he played with it last year, he could have played with it this again this year. It was a decision by the Dallas Stars. It's as simple as that. So we were very comfortable with his situation and remain so.
You could apply a lot of conspiracy theories onto this one, if you're so inclined. Perhaps the Sabres believed Roy's trade value might have been adversely affected by shoulder surgery. Perhaps the Stars are a little freaked out by shoulder injuries after watching the decline of Philippe Boucher. Or perhaps this is just what both teams say and is matter of difference of opinion in medical staffs. Only they know for sure.
After the jump, wrapping up Stars prospect camp, Joe Nieuwendyk has questionable taste in music and Cam Janssen needs better media training.
- To start, probably the most off-beat article I came across from this year's development camp. I'm not sure what the kids expected when they first found out these dates, but I'm pretty sure skeet shooting from the back of a pickup truck wasn't included. [Dallas Observer]
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Austin Smith stands a very strong shot of being the first Dallas-raised hockey player to make his Stars debut. But there was another local kid at the development camp - defenseman Cole Martin, who came up through the Dallas Ice Jets system. [DallasStars.com]
- If you're wondering how the Stars plan on replacing Roy during the opening stretch of the season (and I'm in full "denial of possible lockout" mode so don't try telling me there won't be an opening stretch that he'll miss), obvious candidates are Tom Wandell and Cody Eakin, as Mike Heika details in this paywalled article. [DallasNews.com]
- Oh god, Joe Nieuwendyk really went to a Nickelback concert? I swear this Mac Engel column is more relevant than that, but they'd better not make the playlist more often next season at the AAC. [Fort Worth Star-Telegram]
- This article really sources a paywalled link at ESPN Insider, but those of you who love the sabremetrics-style hockey analysis will see good news in some of the Stars summer moves. [SB Nation DFW]
- There's not another Ott brother in the NHL (and thank goodness for that), but Ott will get to play with one of the closest things he has to a brother on his new team. [Windsor Star]
- Guess who's back. back again. Guess who's back. He's a Finn. [Los Angeles Times]
- Don't get me wrong, I love a good candid interview, even when it veers into the realm of politically incorrect. Bill Guerin was one of my favorite Stars personalities because of his easy humor and permanent college frat boy personality, and he was a big part of creating the Ticket's "Gay or Not Gay" bit. So while I see what Cam Janssen was going for in this radio interview, he did take it a step or 40 over the line. [Puck Daddy]
- Todd will make you laugh, then be sad over the loss of Steve Ott and finally feel superior to the city of Buffalo in his weekly column. What's not to love? [Thursday Morning Cupcheck]
- As much as I wanted to put the video of the prospects skeet shooting here (and I might next week if video dries up), this video just seemed to fit better for a Friday. For the comedy-inclined, check out the face on the player I'm pretty sure is Jamie Oleksiak as he is easily taken down from behind by the MMA teacher. Also, pausing in most places gives you hilarious, captionable images.