Are you all ready to overreact to something that will not have an impact on Wednesday’s Game 7 against the St. Louis Blues?
Of course you are, it’s the playoffs.
Well then, I’m happy to inform you that Tyler Seguin rejoined his Dallas Stars teammates at Tuesday’s optional practice in Frisco. Here is video proof from one of the first with the news, Mark Stepneski:
More Tyler Seguin at practice today. pic.twitter.com/Q91mMhtJ1E
— Mark Stepneski (@StarsInsideEdge) May 10, 2016
Seguin started the day skating with the coaches and a goalie before staying on the ice when the rest of his teammates joined. It was a speculative hour or so before Stars coach Lindy Ruff said that Seguin’s return to practice was part of the process but not a sign that he’d be ready to play tomorrow night. The Stars second-leading scorer is officially a no-go for Game 7.
Unlike some of his fun with goalie mind games, Ruff was pretty to the point about Seguin.
“He’s not available,” Ruff told the media. “He’s not ready to play right now.”
That said, a full practice (plus extra work beforehand) is a good sign that he is moving closer to availability. Should the Stars get through Game 7, and as much of a coinflip as this series has been, that’s anybody’s guess at this point, Seguin sounds like he could be an option early in the Western Conference Finals.
If they don’t get through, obviously he has the whole summer to recover from whatever secondary injury is going on right now, calf strain or otherwise.
Seguin is as big a part of the leadership and emotional core of the team as anyone, so it’s likely a boost just to have him back in the group on a more full-time basis regardless.
So to recap what could happen if the Stars win Game 7:
- Tyler Seguin could be ready to play early in the next round.
- The conditional pick from the Kris Russell deal would turn into a first-rounder, though a very low one (28-30).
- Stars fans would die of emotional exhaustion and happiness.
That’s a lot on the line other than, you know, the right to continue to play for the 2016 Stanley Cup. It’s the reason Game 82 mattered this season as well, to get the most meaningful game of the series on home ice. Here goes everything.