Before their opening night matchup tomorrow night, Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News gives some clarification on the status of Dallas Stars’ forward Roope Hintz, sharing that he will be a game-time decision. Since September 27th, during training camp, Hintz has been out of the Stars’ lineup due to an upper-body injury, and Dallas does not seem keen to rush him back for the start of the regular season.
Starting off the first year of an eight-year, $67.6MM extension signed last season, Hintz will surely be a key missing part of the Stars’ lineup if he is unable to play. Dallas will be able to survive for the time being with him out of the lineup but would have a hard time replacing a player of his caliber in the lineup if it is more long-term.
At the very least, with the addition of Matt Duchene this summer and an incredibly affordable one-year, $3MM deal, the Stars appear to have added appropriate depth in case something such as this transpired. Not only do the Stars appear headed for a war with the Colorado Avalanche for the Central Division, but they are also looking to compete as the top team in the Western Conference, and potentially the entire league.
Other notes from the Western Conference:
- One player who is confirmed to not be playing opening night is Ilya Mikheyev of the Vancouver Canucks. Relaying on the news from the head coach of the Canucks, Rick Tocchet, Brendan Batchelor of Sportsnet announces Mikheyev will indeed miss the season opener. Mikheyev is still rehabbing from an ACL injury sustained last season in January, an injury that would prematurely end his season.
- Murat Ates of The Athletic shares that the Winnipeg Jets have sent Simon Kubicek, Mark Liwiski, and Thomas Milic to their ECHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals. Last year, Kubicek also played in the AHL for the Manitoba Moose, while Liwiski spent his entire season in the ECHL for the Wichita Thunder. Milic, on the other hand, was the 151st overall selection for the Jets in the 2023 NHL Draft, coming out of the Seattle Thunderbirds organization of the WHL.
Top to bottom, the Stars are a much better team than the Avs…but the Stars can’t match McKinnon, Rantanen or Makar.
What? How can the Stars be better top to bottom if they can’t match the top of the Avs roster?
The Stars being better at most or all of the other lineup spots, mostly.