A difficult season for the Dallas Stars continues, as the team announced today that defenseman Johnny Oduya has been placed on the injured reserve again with the same lower-body injury that has plagued him all year. The team’s alternate captain and the veteran leader of its defensive corps, Oduya is of great importance to the Stars and his absences have been felt this season as Dallas has struggled to replicate its 2015-16 success and is currently outside the playoff picture. To replace Oduya, the Stars have recalled rookie defenseman Julius Honka from the AHL’s Texas Stars.
Now in the second year of a two-year, $7.5MM deal signed with Dallas in 2015, Oduya has struggled with injury and the standard wear-and-tear of being a 35-year-old hockey player throughout this season. In 36 games, Oduya has just one goal and six assists, as a well as only 20 hits, and has not looked much like himself. Although his offensive ability and aggression have fallen off somewhat, Oduya continues to play a key role in a very young Dallas defensive unit, as a leader in shot-blocking and short-handed time on ice. Still a strong skater with great hockey sense, Oduya’s presence on the ice is of great value to Dallas, and his second stint on the IR already this season will not help them get back to where they’d like to be in the Western Conference playoff race.
[RELATED: Dallas Stars Depth Chart]
In his stead, the Stars hope the exciting, young blue liner Honka can get the job done. In eight games thus far, Honka has just three assists and has struggled in his own end. However, he brings a high-energy, fast-paced style to the team, much like top defenseman John Klingberg. Honka has 21 points in 30 AHL games in 2016-17, and hopes to translate that production to the next level on this stint in Dallas. Unfortunately, the Stars’ problem is not in goal scoring, but in goal prevention, where they rank 28th in the NHL with over three goals allowed per game. Honka is still developing his defensive game, as are many others on “D” in Dallas, so until Oduya returns the team will have to tighten up or will likely continue their struggles.