With a week off and two defensemen back available soon, the Dallas Stars made a very predictable move today by re-assigning defenseman Esa Lindell to the Texas Stars.
Lindell was called up on January 18 after a lower body injury sent Jordie Benn to injured reserve. Jamie Oleksiak was on a conditioning assignment in the AHL at the time as well, leaving the Stars with six easily available defenseman.
After his recall, Lindell played in all four possible games with no points and a minus-three rating. Paired first with Patrik Nemeth and then Jyrki Jokipakka, he had a 51.4 percent CF% at even strength and was not overly sheltered with a fair number of defensive zone starts. He also saw some penalty killing time, though that has been an area where the Stars as a team have struggled as a whole recently.
Benn is expected back from his lower-body injury after the All-Star break, and Oleksiak’s conditioning assignment is almost up, though. Additionally, the Stars are off until a week from today while the Texas Stars have three games in that stretch. Lindell should also get the opportunity to play in the AHL All-Star Game on Feb. 1 by heading back now.
It was a short stint for Lindell, but he showed very well for a rookie in his four games. The Stars will eventually get the Jokipakka/Nemeth/Oleksiak situation straightened out, and you’d have to think that he’s at the very top of the list for call ups if another injury occurs regardless.