Martin Hanzal‘s first season in Dallas hasn’t gone as expected. After battling injury for much of the year, the Stars today announced that Hanzal will undergo back surgery and is out for the rest of the season. The spinal fusion procedure comes with a recovery timeline of six to seven months, but should not threaten his career.
Hanzal was signed last summer to a three-year, $14.25MM contract as one of the top free agent centers available. The Stars believed they had a solid, big bodied middle-six player who could provide some offense while being responsible defensively, but nothing has gone according to plan. Hanzal’s penchant for injury perked up again, and he’ll finish this season with just 38 games played for the Stars, with a career-low of 10 points registered along the way. He was generally ineffective even when he was in the lineup, but could have been very important as Dallas prepares for a playoff run.
At the deadline, we wrote that the Stars may need to consider adding some center depth due to the inconsistency they’d had at the position. Instead, they lay silent on February 26th and now face the daunting task of heading into the postseason with a patchwork group down the middle. Tyler Seguin is a superstar, and Radek Faksa has shown a good shutdown ability, but beyond that there are question marks galore. Jason Spezza isn’t the same player he was a few years ago, and young options like Devin Shore, Mattias Janmark and Jason Dickinson are anything but experienced. Obviously, they could move Jamie Benn back to the middle if they need to, but that’s far from ideal.
This is just the latest injury for Hanzal, who has played in more than 80 games in a single season just once in his entire career. More often, he spends long stretches on the sideline nursing some sort of ailment, and it will be tough to pencil him into the lineup for the next two years of his contract. Stars fans can hope, but shouldn’t expect him to be around all season, especially after major back surgery and as he heads into his thirties.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Benn has been playing quite a bit of center the last 2 months..Hanzal hasn’t been very good even when he’s been in the lineup.. Dallas has problems with their middle 6 wingers, center depth isn’t the problem..Dallas rolls out 1 scoring line and a bunch on grinders.. They also only have 1 puck moving/offensive minded defenseman because of Hitchcock’s refusal to insert Honka into the lineup.. Hitch’s “shutdown” pair of Pateryn/Hamhuis is a joke.. Future is bright in Big D but they need a 2nd line RW and a new head coach.
Radek Faksa is already a stud.. I’d love to see him get time on the PP and be moved up to the 2nd line but Hitchcock values him to much in a defensive role to give him ice time in offensive situations
He should be in the discussion for the Selke
That Hanzal signing was questionable when it first happened and it looks even worse now. I’m a fan of Hanzal but he’s a bit overrated in my opinion. He’s only had 4 seasons where he played at least 70 games in a 10 year career and has only recorded a 40 point season twice. He can be a good middle six center (probably best suited for a third line center role) but he isn’t healthy enough to warrant a big contract.
When Gretzky was his coach in Phoenix he said Hanzal could be a perennial 50-goal man
Hanzal specializes in things that aren’t necessarily that valuable(shot blocking & faceoffs). He wasn’t worth the contract the day it was signed but he does provide something that the Stars really need which is a physical net front presence.