A key Stars winger is getting closer to returning to their lineup. Head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters including Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News that Jason Robertson has been upgraded from being out week-to-week to out day-to-day. The 25-year-old had his third straight season of at least 80 points this year, hitting the mark exactly but suffered a leg injury in the final game of the regular season. Robertson has been skating away from the team alongside injured blueliner Nils Lundkvist (who is still a long way from returning from shoulder surgery) and it appears he is progressing well in his recovery.
Elsewhere around the hockey world:
- The Golden Knights were without winger Pavel Dorofeyev for tonight’s game against Minnesota and he is listed as day-to-day, relays Jesse Granger of The Athletic (Twitter link). The 24-year-old had a breakout year, tallying 35 goals in the regular season but left Tuesday’s game late due to an undisclosed injury. Victor Olofsson returned to the lineup to take Dorofeyev’s spot on the wing.
- Speaking with reporters today (video link), Devils winger Nathan Bastian addressed his upcoming free agency. Eligible to test the open market for the first time, the 27-year-old indicated that his preference is to remain with New Jersey. However, coming off a down year that saw him record just 10 points in 59 games, he might have to take a small dip in pay from his $1.35MM current deal to do so. The team only has around $12MM in cap room for next season per PuckPedia with defenseman Luke Hughes likely to take a big chunk of that. Accordingly, the Devils may need to keep their final few roster spots closer to the minimum salary and with Bastian logging under 11 minutes a night for the last two years, he likely falls in that category.
- The NHLPA announced that they have hired long-time NHL winger Kyle Okposo as a Business Development and Player Engagement Advisor. Okposo played in over 1,000 career NHL games over parts of 17 seasons, recording 242 goals and 372 assists before ending his career after winning the Stanley Cup with Florida. This won’t be Okposo’s first time working with the NHLPA as he was part of their Executive Board while playing and was also on the Executive Director Search Committee that eventually led to Marty Walsh being hired.