With most everything about the Dallas Stars floundering since the Thanksgiving break, the team made several personnel moves on Tuesday to shake things up.
The most notable is the recall of goalie Jussi Rynnas, who was signed in the offseason after a stellar season in Finland. Rynnas got off to a somewhat slow start this season with the Texas Stars while splitting time with Jack Campbell but seemed to settle in after a few games. In 10 starts in Cedar Park, he has a 0.913 save percentage and 2.58 goals against average with a 5-1-4 record.
In a concerted move, the Stars also placed current backup Anders Lindback on waivers. Lindback has struggled to career worsts in both goals against (4.63) and save percentage (0.861) in five starts. With those statistics, it’s hard to imagine he would be claimed by anyone, though you can never put anything past the Edmonton Oilers, I guess.
The Stars also filled a newly-created hole at forward by recalling Curtis McKeznie, who will take the roster spot of the injured Patrick Eaves. Eaves was placed on injured reserve after being injured by a friendly fire shot in Tuesday’s loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Here is the official release:
FRISCO, Texas – Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has recalled left wing Curtis McKenzie and goaltender Jussi Rynnas from the Texas Stars, Dallas’ development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).
McKenzie, 23, has appeared in nine games for Dallas in 2014-15, scoring his first-career NHL goal on Nov. 16, 2014 against the Chicago Blackhawks. He also played in his first-career NHL game on Oct. 18 against the Philadelphia Flyers. McKenzie has skated in seven games with Texas, registering six points (3-3=6) and one game-winning goal. The 6-foot-2, 205-pound native of Golden, British Columbia was selected by Dallas in the sixth round (159th overall) of the 2009 NHL Draft.
Rynnas (ROO-nuhs, YOO-see), 26, has posted a 5-1-4 record with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage in 10 appearances with Texas this season. The goaltender logged a 28-7-5 record in 40 regular-season contests with Karpat of the Finnish Elite League in 2013-14, posting a 1.51 GAA and a .939 SV%. Rynnas has appeared in three career NHL games, all with the Toronto Maple Leafs, posting an 0-1-0 record with a 3.85 GAA and an .848 SV%. The 6-foot-5, 210-pound native of Pori, Finland was signed by Dallas as a free agent on July 7, 2014.
The Stars have also placed right wing Patrick Eaves on injured reserve. The native of Calgary, Alta. has tallied five assists and eight points (3-5=8) in 19 games with Dallas in the 2014-15 campaign. Eaves has registered 154 career points (77-77=154) in 463 NHL contests with the Ottawa Senators, Carolina Hurricanes, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators and Dallas Stars. The 6-foot-0, 200-pound forward was originally selected by Ottawa in the first round (29th overall) of the 2003 NHL Draft, and signed with Dallas as a free agent on July 1, 2014.