The Dallas Stars have recalled forward Travis Morin from the Texas Stars, as well as assigning defenseman Jamie Oleksiak to the Texas Stars in a series of moves on Thursday afternoon.
Morin was the AHL’s Most Valuable Player last season and helped lead the Texas Stars to the Calder Cup championship. After a good training camp and preseason Morin was sent back to the AHL, passing through waivers before being assigned to the Texas Stars.
Through 23 games this season, Morin has 10 goals and 14 assists for the struggling Stars. With the Stars having to deal with an injury to Travis Moen, and Ryan Garbutt’s suspension, a need arose for a versatile forward that could fit up and down the lineup — and Morin certainly fits the bill.
This might be Morin’s last real shot at making an impression at the NHL level, and he’ll need to pass through waivers once more if he gets reassigned to the AHL.
The decision to send Oleksiak to the AHL is an interesting one, as the hulking defenseman seems to have been improving at points this season but never commanded more minutes or an expanded role. This could be a move in order to get Oleksiak bigger minutes in the AHL rather than the limited time he was seeing in Dallas, especially with Texas playing games on Friday and Saturday night.
Sending Oleksiak to the AHL leaves Dallas with just six “healthy” defensemen, an important caveat to that being the injury that Alex Goligoski continues to fight through that has kept him off the ice for most practices the last month.
There’s also a possibility that Oleksiak is being sent to Cedar Park to just play on Friday and Saturday, then rejoin the team over the weekend. We’ll see how it plays out.
Here’s the press release:
FRISCO, Texas – Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that forward Travis Morin has been recalled from the Texas Stars, Dallas’ development affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL).
Morin, 30, leads the Texas Stars and is tied for fourth overall in the AHL with 24 points (10-14=24) in 23 games this season. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound native of Brooklyn Park, Minn. has skated in seven career NHL contests, posting one assist and six shots.
Originally selected by Washington in the ninth round (263rd overall) of the 2004 NHL Draft, Dallas signed Morin as a free agent on July 2, 2010.
Additionally, the team also announced that defenseman Jamie Oleksiak has been assigned to Texas.
Oleksiak, 21, has four points (1-3=4) in 21 games for Dallas this season. The 6-foot-7, 250-pound native of Toronto, Ont. was selected by Dallas in the first round (14th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft.