The Stars are a team to watch for in the coming days when it comes to defensemen. The team currently has nine players vying for spots and only one (Julius Honka) is waiver exempt. While GM Jim Nill has preferred to carry eight in recent years and have had the last few rotate in and out of the lineup, head coach Ken Hitchcock told Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News that his preference is to have their top-six well-defined with the scratches waiting for an opportunity to get back in. If that’s the case, they may want to just carry seven which could potentially result in someone like Greg Pateryn being placed on waivers in the coming days.
Elsewhere in the West:
- Ducks winger Patrick Eaves is currently dealing with a lower-body injury and his availability for Anaheim’s remaining preseason games is in question, reports Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register. The issue is unrelated to the ankle injury that took him out of the lineup in the second round of the postseason. Eaves has yet to play at all during the exhibition schedule but it seems like he should be ready to go when the regular season gets underway next week.
- Golden Knights winger James Neal skated with the team for the first time on Tuesday as he continues to recover from surgery on his hand, notes Steve Carp and David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Head coach Gerard Gallant acknowledged that there is no firm timeframe for when the 30-year-old will get the green light to get into a game. As Neal heads into the final year of his contract and Vegas expected to struggle in their first season, he will likely be one of the more sought after rental players on the trade market.
- Despite undergoing hip surgery late last season, Blackhawks winger Patrick Sharp had plenty of offers in free agency this offseason, notes Tracey Myers of CSN Chicago. However, Sharp called returning to Chicago “the No. 1 choice by far”. Sharp, of course, had the most success of his career in his first stint with the team, one that saw him record 511 points in 679 games as well as three Stanley Cup championships in a Chicago uniform. The veteran likely left money on the table to rejoin the Blackhawks as he signed for just $800K with an additional $200K if he plays in ten games this season.