Yesterday, the Dallas Stars loaned eight players to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars, as well as placing defenseman Julius Honka on waivers. That means the team’s roster is now more or less set, and, as always, General Manager Jim Nill is happy with it:
“I like where we’re at,” said Nill. “We’ve done a good job of getting through all of this, and I credit the players and coaches for dealing with all of it professionally, so I feel good about where we’re at.”
Callups throughout the season due to injury or performance are still to be expected, but there will be an extra layer of complexity with the NHL’s mandated taxi squad. That’s the one part of the roster that could be more fluid, as Nill wants to ensure his players are getting the playing time they need:
“As good as it is for players to be practicing with the NHL team, we want them playing in games, too,” Nill said. “So we’ll be trying to make sure we have players available but also playing as much as possible. That’s just part of this season that’s going to be a new challenge.”
You can read more from Mike Heika here.
Stars Stories
If you earn heaps of praise from multiple former Norris Trophy winners, then you’re probably a superstar defenseman:
“Everything seems so effortless.” — Victor Hedman
“He makes the game look so easy.” — P.K. Subban
“He looks mature in his decision making.” — Nicklas Lidstrom
“He’s an unbelievable player.” — Roman Josi
Talked to 6 Norris winners about Miro Heiskanen👇🏽https://t.co/qPqqhoVsT9
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) January 20, 2021
And in case that isn’t enough Miro Heiskanen content for you (honestly, you can never have enough), Saad Yousuf wrote a follow-up piece:
Yesterday, @SaadYousuf126 polled former Norris winners to see how Miro Heiskanen measures up. Today, he examines what the 21-year-old must do to officially join their ranks. Here’s Heiskanen’s pathway to the Norris Trophy:https://t.co/QClDHXXPWZ
— The Athletic Dallas (@TheAthleticDFW) January 21, 2021
While last year’s Stanley Cup Final loss still stings, the Stars will be using that pain as motivation for this season:
“It’s going to stick with you for a while and forever.”
Stars entering season seeking ‘redemption year’ still fueled by Stanley Cup Final loss
✍️ @MDeFranks | #GoStars https://t.co/DGOiAqhVlv
— SportsDayDFW (@SportsDayDFW) January 21, 2021
Around the League
And the first hammer has fallen — the Washington Capitals are the first team to be fined for players violating COVID-19 protocols:
NHL fines Washington Capitals $100,000 for violating COVID Protocols. https://t.co/yuw4d886OL pic.twitter.com/1ZgPbpazwa
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) January 20, 2021
Here’s a breakdown of the fine, detailing what happened and where Washington goes from here:
Why was Washington fined so much? Will the team still practice and play its home opener? @Tarik_ElBashir breaks down how the Capitals’ COVID-19 protocol violation impacts the team ⤵️https://t.co/g6KyioCDGg
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) January 21, 2021
Turns out that despite having a rough rookie year, 2019 1st overall pick Jack Hughes is still really good at hockey. Who knew?
Last season, @jackhughes43 had statistically one of the worst-ever seasons in the history of No. 1 overall picks. In fact, he wasn’t even the best rookie in his family. But he’s bigger, stronger and more dynamic in Year 2.@THNKenCampbell‘s latest blog: https://t.co/F1xZTretjW
— The Hockey News (@TheHockeyNews) January 20, 2021
Finally, I will never not share a piece proposing an NFL-style division alignment for hockey:
The problem with recent NHL division groupings is that they are too big. An NFL-style realignment would fix that | @ian_mendes ⤵️https://t.co/ReE3S7xrGh
— The Athletic NHL (@TheAthleticNHL) January 21, 2021