The Stars are being investigated by the league for a possible CBA violation over the holiday break, report Michael Russo and Joe Smith of The Athletic (subscription link). Head coach Peter DeBoer indicated on Friday that there was an optional skate held on Thursday. However, teams aren’t permitted to hold any sort of on-ice sessions with players between December 24th and 26th with this skate being held on the 26th. The league sent a memo to all 32 teams on Monday reminding them of the rule prohibiting travel or ice time. Back in 2022, Toronto was fined $100K for violating the travel portion of the rule so if the league levies a penalty to Dallas following their investigation, it’s likely to be at or above that amount.
Stars Rumors
Dallas Stars Recall Justin Hryckowian; Mason Marchment Likely Out
According to a team announcement, the Dallas Stars have recalled Justin Hryckowian for the third time this month. Hryckowian hasn’t debuted in the NHL over the first two recalls but there’s reason to believe he’ll do that tomorrow against the Chicago Blackhawks.
There’s growing concern the Stars will be without Mason Marchment tomorrow, leading to the idea that Hryckowian will be called upon to make his debut. Last night, Marchment took a puck to the face in a scary scene and was helped off the ice by the team. He was immediately taken to the hospital and head Peter DeBoer shared (X Link) that Marchment is ’okay in a broader sense’ but is unsure how long he’ll be sidelined.
If Marchment isn’t available Dallas will be limited to 12 healthy forwards. Hryckowian will likely slot on the team’s fourth line next to Oskar Back and Sam Steel with Logan Stankoven moving back to the team’s second line.
The Stars may even replace Marchment with Hryckowian on the team’s second line considering the strength of Dallas’ opponent tomorrow night. The former captain of Northeastern University has exceeded expectations in his first full AHL season scoring 12 goals and 26 points through his first 27 games. He may not be a longer-term player for the Stars yet but he’s certainly growing his prospect pedigree in the organization.
Stars Recall Lian Bichsel, Reassign Justin Hryckowian
Dec. 27: Bichsel ended up back on the Stars’ roster today but not Hryckowian, per the club. As such, they won’t be carrying an extra forward for tonight’s game. They have two open spots on their active roster.
Dec. 24: According to the AHL transactions page, the Stars reassigned Hryckowian back to AHL Texas a day after their recent game against the New York Rangers and reassigned Bichsel earlier today. Both players are expected back on the NHL roster before Dallas’ upcoming matchup against the Minnesota Wild on December 27th.
Dec. 20: The Dallas Stars have recalled defenseman Lian Bichsel & forward Justin Hryckowian from their American Hockey League affiliate the Texas Stars (as per Dallas Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine). The forward recall could be necessary as Mason Marchment couldn’t finish Wednesday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Bichsel made his NHL debut on December 12th and scored his first NHL goal. The 20-year-old posted another goal on Monday night against the Washington Capitals. During his four NHL games, Bichsel averaged a tick over 15 minutes of ice time per game. During his 21 AHL games, Bichsel has posted a +8 plus/minus as well as 26 PIM along with three goals and six assists. Bichsel looks like an NHL player at the moment, and a good argument could be made that he has done all he can in the AHL, however, during his most recent recall there were several prominent moments where he was outplayed.
Hryckowian received his first call-up to the NHL earlier this month on December 2nd but didn’t see any NHL action. In the AHL, he currently leads all Texas scorers with 23 points (nine goals and 14 assists) in 25 games. His +14 rating is tops among all AHL forwards.
The Stars are back in action tonight against the New York Rangers. Depending on the status of Marchment, it’s very possible that Hryckowian could make his NHL debut.
Islanders’ Brock Nelson Unlikely To Sign Extension
Brock Nelson’s 12-year tenure on Long Island will likely end by the time next summer rolls around. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writes Thursday that he believes Nelson “intends to test free agency on July 1,” upping the likelihood of the Islanders dealing the pending unrestricted free agent by the trade deadline if they don’t put themselves back in playoff position by then.
Nelson’s production hasn’t been what we’re used to seeing from him in 2024-25. With 10 goals and 20 points through 35 games, he’s on pace for 47 points over an 82-game schedule. On a per-game basis, that would be his worst offensive showing since the 2017-18 campaign. Given he’s now 33 years old, there’s also legitimate concern whether he can recapture the form that led to three straight 30-goal seasons from 2021-22 to 2023-24.
Part of that decline has been fueled by an 11% shooting rate, which would be decent for many players but abnormally low by Nelson’s standards. Throughout his 875-game NHL career, he’s usually hovered around his career average of 14.2% without much variation. He’s tracking to shoot at his lowest success rate since his first two seasons in the league. It’s also been fueled by a 12-game goalless skid, during which he has just three assists. He had 10 goals and 17 points through his first 24 outings before ending up at today’s totals.
But with the Islanders two games back of .500 and coming off perhaps their worst game of the season right before the holiday break, a 7-1 drubbing at home at the hands of the Sabres, whether they’ll be in playoff position by deadline day is becoming less of a debate. MoneyPuck puts the Isles’ playoff odds at 5.8% at the time of writing, Hockey Reference gives them a 10.4% shot, while The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn gives them a far more optimistic 34% chance, boosted by a weak middle-of-the-pack group in this year’s Metropolitan Division.
That means there’s likely too much runway left in the Islanders’ season for general manager Lou Lamoriello to throw in the towel. If history is any indicator, that’s a necessary prerequisite for the club to seriously consider trading Nelson instead of trying to hammer out a deal up until July 1. On the other hand, Nelson said during training camp that he was open to having in-season talks about an extension. Either Those haven’t happened or they haven’t been particularly productive, evidently leading him to focus on his options over the summer.
And if he’s genuinely intent on testing the market, not just finding a new home, that’ll impact his trade value by the deadline. Even at Nelson’s age, Lamoriello won’t be able to land a huge return for him without a team being reasonably confident they’ll retain him for more than just a few months. Nelson also holds a 16-team no-trade list, so if there’s a buyer he’s not interested in joining, he could veto those deals.
LeBrun and Chris Johnston speculated that the Stars and Wild are potential deadline destinations for Nelson. Both also make sense as free-agent landing spots. Minnesota could likely only acquire Nelson at 50% retention ($3MM cap hit) without moving out a salary. Still, they have over $13MM in cap space opening up this summer, thanks to the reduction of the Zach Parise and Ryan Suter buyout penalties. That figure doesn’t include a projected salary cap increase of at least $4MM, making them well-positioned to have productive extension talks with star Kirill Kaprizov, who’s set to become a UFA in 2026 while being one of the most prominent players on this summer’s UFA market. Nelson, whose age and declining production likely don’t warrant a raise on his current $6MM cap hit on a short-to-mid-term deal, would complement Joel Eriksson Ek and Marco Rossi down the middle quite nicely and would likely have interest in returning to his home state. The Stars, meanwhile, project to have far more financial flexibility at the trade deadline but less so over the summer.
Dumba Resumes Skating, Won't Play Monday
- While Stars defenseman Mathew Dumba returned to practice today with a full cage, he will not suit up on Monday against Utah, relays Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports (Twitter link). He has missed the last two weeks with an upper-body injury. It has been a tough first year in Dallas for Dumba as he has been limited to just one assist in 19 games so far this season which is not the type of production the team was expecting when they signed him to a two-year, $7.5MM contract this summer.
Stars Recall Alexander Petrovic, Place Matt Dumba On IR
The Dallas Stars have recalled defenseman Alexander Petrovic to fill in for the injured Matt Dumba, who has been shifted to injured reserve. Dumba has missed Dallas’ last three games with an upper-body injury. His IR placement is retroactive to December 8th, making Dumba eligible to be activated as soon as he’s back to full health.
This is already the second IR placement of Dumba’s season. He missed nine days of action in October after suffering a lower-body injury in the team’s October 13th win over Seattle. Dumba was placed on IR six days later but avoided surgery and a long-term absence. He’s played in the majority of Dallas’ games since returning on October 22nd, though he was healthy scratched a few times for underwhelming play. Dumba has just one assist in 19 games this season, and it didn’t come until his 12th game of the season. He’s added 19 penalty minutes, 17 shots on net, and 31 hits on the season while averaging 15:33 in ice time. Dumba’s slow play dates back to last season, when he managed just 12 points in 76 games split between the Arizona Coyotes and Tampa Bay Lightning. He signed a two-year, $7.5MM contract with Dallas this summer looking to spur the lack of production, but has since fallen into an even deeper rut.
Rookie Lian Bichsel has filled in for Dumba over the last few games, but Dallas is still facing uncertain availability for both Thomas Harley and Nils Lundkvist. Both players will be game-time decisions due to flu symptoms, an issue for many different Stars players shares Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News. Petrovic will be ready to fill in for either defender. He’s been Dallas’ go-to call-up on defense, and played in two NHL games earlier this season. Petrovic didn’t manage any scoring, but did record one penalty, in the outings. He’s made much more of an impact in the minor leagues, where he’s tallied 13 points in 21 games while serving as one of Texas’ alternate captains. Petrovic is a veteran of 10 pro seasons, spending much of them as a depth defender split between the major and minor leagues. He’s totaled 50 points in 266 career NHL games, and 164 points in 448 AHL games.
Stars Notes: Bichsel, Harley, Lundkvist, DeSmith
The Dallas Stars have reversed their paper transaction that sent Lian Bichsel to the minor leagues. He’s expected to step back into the lineup on Monday, setting Bichsel up for his third NHL game. The first two have both gone well, with Bichsel recording a goal, penalty, and eight hits. His four hits per game, or 16.08 hits-per-60, ranks second among all NHL defensemen behind Vegas’ Robert Hagg, who’s recorded 11 hits in two games.
Bichsel’s NHL debut was long anticipated. He was an imperative piece of Rogle BK’s lineup last season, recording a mere four points in 29 games but serving a physical shutdown role in the top four through much of the season. Rogle went on an underdog run to the SHL championship but ultimately fell to Skelleftea AIK in five games. Bichsel made the move to the AHL quickly after and has since combined for 16 points, 60 penalty minutes, and a +6 in 37 games with the Texas Stars.
Where Bichsel slots in on Monday could be up for question. Thomas Harley, who operated ahead of Bichsel in the rookie’s first two games, is listed as a game-time decision due to illness, per Brien Rea of Bally Sports Southwest. Rea also shares that Nils Lundkvist, who sat out of Saturday’s game with the flu, is expected to return on Monday. With Bichsel potentially filling in for Harley, Brendan Smith will step out of the lineup for Lundkvist’s return.
In additional news from Dallas’ Monday practice, it appears goaltender Casey DeSmith has also returned to full health after missing Saturday’s game with illness. His availability is evidenced by Dallas’ lack of a goaltending call-up, pointed out by Owen Newkirk of the Dallas Stars podcast.
Evening Notes: Parssinen, Kuzmenko, Dumba
The Nashville Predators have continued to be one of the NHL’s busiest teams this season, making trades to revamp their goaltending and move out stalling veterans in favor of top prospects. It seems the latter trend could continue, with the team eyeing trades for forward Juuso Parssinen per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman in the latest 32 Thoughts. Friedman compared the rumors to Nashville’s separating from Philip Tomasino and Dante Fabbro, who have each found far more success in their new homes. Tomasino has three goals and four points in seven games with Pittsburgh, while Fabbro has seven points in 15 games with Columbus.
Parssinen has just five points through 15 games this season – four of which came in a four-game span in mid-November. He’s recorded no scoring and a -6 in seven games since that hot streak, losing grip on his third-line role along the way. This year marks Parssinen’s first with a full-time role on the Predators roster, after splitting the last two seasons between the NHL and AHL. He scored an admirable 25 points in 45 games as a rookie – coupled by nine points in 10 AHL games – in 2022-23. But Parssinen took a step back at both levels last season, scoring just 12 points in 44 NHL games and 25 points in 36 AHL games. Making the Predators roster out of training camp was an encouraging sign heading into this year, but after 15 games, the former seventh-round pick may no longer be a fit. His six-foot-three frame and serviceable play at center should draw plenty of attention from around the league, though his 42 points in 104 career games likely won’t earn Nashville a hefty return.
Other notes from around the league:
- Calgary Flames winger Andrei Kuzmenko is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Walker Duehr is expected to fill his role in Saturday’s game against Florida. Kuzmenko has just one goal and 10 points in 28 games this season. He was healthy scratched for three games at the start of the month, and has since recorded one point and a -2 in three games. He’ll need a return to full health to come with more confident scoring if he wants to ward off emerging prospects Duehr and Jakob Pelletier.
- Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer provided a bit of clarity into Matt Dumba’s injury, telling Brian Rea of Bally Sports Southwest that he is somewhere between day-to-day and week-to-week. Dumba has missed Dallas’ last two games after suffering an upper-body injury in Sunday’s matchup against Calgary. He’s been oft-injured in his first year with the Stars, limited in or outright missing 10 of Dallas’ 28 games this season. That’s made adjusting to the new setting tough, evidenced by Dumba’s one assist in 19 games – a team-low in scoring among players with more than a few games played. Dumba faced nagging injuries between 2018 and 2021, but rediscovered his health in the last two seasons. Unfortunately, he hasn’t found the scoring of his early career in the return. Once a 50-point scorer, Dumba posted just 26 points in 155 games between 2022-23 and 2023-24. He played for three teams – Minnesota, Arizona, and Tampa Bay – in that span.
Stars Recall Magnus Hellberg
With Casey DeSmith out with the flu, the Stars needed a second goaltender for their game tonight against St. Louis. That netminder will be Magnus Hellberg as the team announced (Twitter link) that the veteran has been recalled from AHL Texas.
The 34-year-old is in his first season with Dallas after signing a one-year, two-way deal with them in mid-August, one worth the league minimum of $775K in the NHL and containing a guaranteed $475K payout. Hellberg has played in 13 games so far with Texas and isn’t off to the best of starts, putting up a 3.08 GAA with a .894 SV% but makes more sense to bring up on a short-term basis than prospect Remi Poirier, his backup in the minors.
Hellberg does have some NHL experience under his belt, albeit limited. He has seen NHL action in six of the last ten years, compiling 26 appearances altogether where he has a 3.08 GAA and a .890 SV%. Most of that action came in the 2022-23 campaign when he got into 18 games between Ottawa and Detroit.
Dallas had an open roster spot before bringing Hellberg up so no corresponding move needed to be made to add him to the roster.
Stars Recall Lian Bichsel For Potential NHL Debut
The Stars have recalled 2022 first-round pick Lian Bichsel from AHL Texas ahead of tonight’s game against the Predators, Brien Rea of FanDuel Sports Network Southwest reports. The 20-year-old could make his NHL debut with Mathew Dumba likely to sit out with an upper-body injury.
It’s Bichsel’s first in-season recall. He was summoned from the AHL during the Stars’ playoff run last season and was briefly considered an option to make his NHL debut in postseason action, but it didn’t come to pass.
The towering 6’6″, 234-lb left-shot defender is in his first full season of pro hockey in North America. The Switzerland native has been logging heavy minutes for Texas, posting three goals and six assists for nine points in 21 games with a +8 rating to lead Baby Stars defenders.
However, it’s far from Bichsel’s first taste of professional play. The well-rounded defender has logged action in a top-level European pro league in every season since 2020-21, first in his native Switzerland with EHC Biel-Bienne before making the jump to the Swedish Hockey League with Leksands IF and Rögle BK. The physical shutdown defender made 29 appearances on loan to Rögle last season, recording four points and 28 PIMs before adding six points in 15 playoff games en route to a league finals appearances. He came to the AHL immediately after his season in Sweden ended, notching seven points and a -2 rating in 16 games for Texas.
Bichsel directly replacing Dumba in the lineup would mean playing on his off-side. It would mean the same for veteran Brendan Smith, Dallas’ other option to enter the lineup for Dumba, although the 35-year-old does have a decent amount of experience playing on the right side despite behind a left shot.
The Stars previously had two open spots on the active roster and are now down to one. Bichsel’s recall leaves them with $1.24MM in current cap space, per PuckPedia.