It has been rumored for three drafts in a row that Mike Ribeiro could be on his way out of Dallas and today Joe Nieuwendyk finally pulled the deal, dramatically on the draft floor, moving the center to the Washington Capitals for Cody Eakin and a second round pick in this year’s NHL Draft (tomorrow).
Eakin is a 21 year old center, drafted in the third round in 2009 (85th overall). He shoot left, he’s just 5-11, 189lbs. He’s described as agile and quick, using his speed to make up for his lack of size. He split the 2011-2012 season between the capitals and the Hershey Bears, racking up less than impressive offensive totals in each stop.
He had four goals and four assists in 30 games with the Capitals last season and scored 13 goals and 14 assists in 43 games with Hershey.
The Stars now possess three second round picks tomorrow and many feel that all that ammunition is a good indication that they could try to move up in the draft here in the coming minutes.
Needles to say Stars fans are a little shocked at the sudden departure of the Stars leading offensive player and scorer over the last six seasons. Farewell to Mike Ribeiro. May he confound the Southeast Division with regularity.
Stay tuned. This thing is just getting interesting.
Full release (Already??) after the jump…
Pittsburgh, PA – Dallas Stars General Manager Joe Nieuwendyk announced today that the club has acquired forward Cody Eakin (EE-kihn) and Washington’s second-round selection (54th overall) in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for center Mike Ribeiro. Dallas now has three selections (43rd, 54th and 61st) in the second-round of this year’s Draft.
Eakin, 21, is a native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and started the 2011-12 season with the Hershey Bears, Washington’s affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). Eakin posted 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points with a plus-4 rating in 43 games with Hershey.He made his NHL debut on Nov. 1, 2011 vs .Anaheim. On Nov. 4, 2011, his second NHL game, Eakin earned his first two NHL points posting 1 goal and 1 assist against the Carolina Hurricanes. In total, he scored 4 goals and 4 assists for 8 points in 30 games for the Capitals in 2011-12.
“Cody Eakin is a young, competitive player who we’ve had our eye on for some time,” said Nieuwendyk. “He plays a solid two-way game and epitomizes the ‘hard to play against’ mentality we’re building our team around. Cody’s future is bright, and we’re excited to add him to our club.”
The 6-foot-0, 190-pound center previously spent five seasons in the WHL with the Swift Current Broncos and Kootenay Ice. His best season came in 2009-10, when he scored a team-leading 47 goals, 44 assists and 91 points in 70 games. In 2010-11, he helped lead Kootenay to its third WHLChampionship, recording 11 goals and 16 assists in 19 post-season games. Eakin was Washington’s third-round selection (85th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Ribeiro, 32, recently concluded his sixth season with the Dallas Stars, where he earned 18 goals and 45 assists, totaling 63 points in 74 games with the club. In total, Ribeiro played 461 games for the Stars, scoring 123 goals, 284 assists, totaling 407 points.
“We’d like to thank Mike for his contributions the last six years with the Dallas Stars, and wish him well with the Washington Capitals,” said Nieuwendyk.