In the lockout-shortened season of April 2013, the Stars had choices to make. One nice thing about the delayed start to the year was the additional time it afforded Derek Roy in his recovery from shoulder surgery (after being acquired from Buffalo for Steve Ott and Adam Pardy, somehow). The Stars elected to move forward with Roy’s surgery knowing full-well that it could deprive them of valuable games from their new #2 center and free-agent-to-be, but thanks to the Jeremy Jacobs cabal, Roy was up and at ’em by mid-January. The Stars were set to have a solid second liner, and everything was going great up until it wasn’t, and the season ended with a well-advised fire sale by Nieuwendyk that saw Morrow, Jagr(!) and Roy all traded away for picks and prospects.
Derek Roy didn’t really do much during his time with the Stars–you may remember his first goal with the team didn’t come until mid-February–but I thought I could just be happy with the fact that he had facilitated trading away Adam Pardy, who had been signed to a multi-year contract for some reason. Probably the same reason that Aaron Rome was, now that I think about it.
But it’s looking like the biggest reminder of Derek Roy’s presence in Dallas will be the second-round draft pick that accompanied Kevin Connauton to Dallas when Vancouver traded for Roy at the 2013 deadline. Because, and let me get my Paul Harvey voice ready here, that second round pick turned out to be, Philippe Desrosiers:
Desrosiers, who had the best goals-against average in the league during the regular season, had to battle with Louis-Philip Guindon for playing time during the postseason and played in only nine of Rimouski’s 20 playoff games. But Desrosiers’ relief effort helped Rimouski win Sunday to force a seventh game, and he was stellar again Monday night.
The 19-year-old, Dallas’ second-round pick in 2013, was superb early in the game Monday when Quebec dominated play. He stopped 18 shots in the first period as Rimouski was outshot 19-7 but headed into the intermission tied 1-1. He and Quebec goaltender Zachary Fucale stayed perfect through the second and third periods and a full 20-minute overtime before Rimouski’s Michael Joly banged home a rebound 2:13 into the second OT.
In Sunday’s Game 6, Desrosiers took over for Guindon early in the second period and stopped six of seven shots as Rimouski rallied from a 3-1 deficit to win 5-4 in overtime to force a seventh game.
Desrosiers finished the QMJHL playoffs with a 5-3 record, 2.48 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.
Up next, for Desrosiers and Rimouski is the Memorial Cup in Quebec City. The tournament will also feature the Oshawa Generals (OHL champions), Kelowna Rockets (WHL champions) and Quebec Remparts (host team). The tournament begins Friday. Rimouski’s first game is Saturday against Oshawa.
[Stars]
I mentioned Desrosiers in the linkset yesterday, but given the Stars’ system’s paucity at the goalie position in years past, it bears mentioning that Desrosiers is approaching “give him a shot” territory. He’s still below Campbell on the depth chart of course, but this season will necessarily reveal the Stars’ situation in net, whatever that may be. Having Desrosiers is a very good thing right now, and Derek Roy is actually partially responsible for that. Maybe Adam Pardy, too, but let’s just say thanks to Steve Ott and move on with our lives.
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Watching Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith is a privilege. Good heavens are those players ever invaluable.
Rick “Goose” Gosselin expects the Stars to do something dramatic in a trade this summer. [DMN]
What a game last night. Watch all the highlights, just all of them. This was playoff hockey at its very best, except for the Ducks part. [NHL]
Do you think Clayton Stoner deserved more than a minor penalty for this hit from behind? [Pro Hockey Talk]
Mike Babcock is playing footsies with the Sabres, but I guess we’ll find out what’s behind it all today. [Detroit Free Press]
Elliotte Friedman also gives his take on Babcock, but his observations about Ovechkin’s decreasing ice time are even more interesting. 30 Thoughts here. [SportsNet]
Todd McLellan made it official: he will be the next coach fired by the Oilers. [Edmonton Journal]
Patrik Elias and Travis Zajac might not be Devils next year, and they don’t know how to feel about that. [NHL]
Nick Foligno is the new Blue Jackets captain because he did a great job heading up an All-Star team this year. Columbus hasn’t had a captain in like three years, so this is a pretty big deal. [Columbus Dispatch]
Jarome Iginla is ageless, but can you really count on his scoring 25+ goals again next year? If you’re Colorado, you may not have much choice. Great comprehensive look at the state of the Avs right now. [TSN]
Have fun compiling your playoff busts into an all-star team! [Down Goes Brown]
Here is some nice news: Eugene Melnyk had a successful liver transplant yesterday from an anonymous donor. [CBC]
Finally, this goal did not count, and I am still really sad about that:
GIF: Another look at Shaw’s header goal pic.twitter.com/ZTC7vo6yqk
— Pete Blackburn (@PeteBlackburn) May 20, 2015
