Stars Announce Several Roster Moves; Nils Lundkvist Out For The Season
It’s a busy Saturday in Dallas. The team announced (Twitter link) that defenseman Kyle Capobianco has been assigned to AHL Texas while blueliner Christian Kyrou and winger Kyle McDonald from AHL Texas. To make room on the roster, winger Mason Marchment was placed on injured reserve. The team then revealed that defenseman Nils Lundkvist has undergone season-ending shoulder surgery and that he and Tyler Seguin have been placed on LTIR.
Capobianco made his season debut on Friday and had some early struggles in his first taste of NHL action in two years. The 27-year-old has been quite productive with Texas, however, tallying 28 points in 35 games. Depending on how the back end of these roster moves shuffle out, it’s possible that Capobianco is back with the big club pretty quickly.
It’s the first regular season recall for both Kyrou and McDonald. On the surface, they may be short-lived ones as it’s likely those moves were made to optimize their LTIR placements. Kyrou has 13 points in 26 games with Texas in his sophomore year professionally. McDonald, meanwhile, has just five points in 31 appearances, a big drop after picking up 26 points in 51 outings last season.
Marchment has been out since late December due to a facial injury. Assuming the Stars filed the paperwork to make his placement retroactive, he can be activated at any time and is believed to be aiming to return before the upcoming break so he might not be out for much longer. He was off to a strong start before the injury with 12 goals and 15 assists in his first 33 outings.
As for Lundkvist, he had missed the last week and a half with an upper-body injury which we now know was a shoulder issue. His season comes to an end on a pretty quiet note as he finishes with five assists, 34 blocks, and 23 hits in 39 games while averaging just over 15 minutes a night. He joins blueliner Miro Heiskanen on the shelf as Dallas’ defensive depth starts to get tested.
The 24-year-old is slated to be a restricted free agent with arbitration rights this summer where he’ll be owed a $1.25MM qualifying offer. Dallas declined to tender him last summer when the qualifier was only $874K to avoid giving him arbitration rights so it wouldn’t be surprising if they go that route again if a deal can’t be reached before the end of June.
Seguin, meanwhile, underwent hip surgery back in December, a procedure that carried an expected recovery timeline of four to six months although it’s expected he won’t be back until the playoffs.
Accordingly, by placing both him and Lundkvist on LTIR, Dallas can exceed the cap by up to the amount of their cap hits minus any remaining regular cap room at the time of placement. (Kyrou and McDonald’s recalls allow them to reduce that regular cap room as much as possible to maximize how much LTIR space they have). All things considered, Dallas should have somewhere around $11MM in full-season contracts that they can add between now and the March 7th trade deadline, making the Stars a team to watch for in the coming weeks.
Heiskanen Likely Needs Surgery, Should Be Back Before End Of Season
While it was known that the Stars would be without their top defenseman through the 4 Nations Face-Off, it appears Miro Heiskanen will be out even longer than that. Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News relays that the blueliner is expected to require surgery with the recovery time being unknown at this time. However, head coach Peter DeBoer expressed optimism that Heiskanen would be able to return before the end of the regular season. The 25-year-old, who was placed on IR today to open up a roster spot, has 25 points in 50 games this season while logging over 25 minutes a night. Now that he’s expected to be out longer term, it wouldn’t be shocking to see Dallas look to add some help on the back end between now and the March 7th trade deadline.
Stars’ Miro Heiskanen Suffers Lower-Body Injury
Dallas Stars’ defenseman Miro Heiskanen left last night’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights after suffering a lower-body injury in a nasty collision with Mark Stone (as per Sportsnet). Stone was tripped by Stars forward Roope Hintz on the play and lost his balance, slamming headfirst into Heiskanen’s knee. Heiskanen reached for his left knee almost immediately and was in agony as he was escorted off the ice by his teammates before heading up the tunnel to the Stars’ dressing room. He did not return. Stone was uninjured on the play but was given a two-minute minor penalty for tripping.
The minor penalty call irked Stars head coach Peter DeBoer who wondered why the refs didn’t call a five-minute major to review the incident. DeBoer then added that he’s coached Stone before and knows he isn’t a dirty player, but didn’t understand why the refs didn’t have a second look.
Heiskanen is expected to play big minutes for Finland at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off after being named to the team last June. He was among the first six players announced, and now with this injury, it throws his availability into question.
The 25-year-old remains one of the top defensemen in the NHL, finishing top 12 in Norris Trophy consideration in four of the past five seasons. While his offensive numbers have dipped this season to five goals and 20 assists in 50 games, he remains one of the NHL’s best two-way defensemen.
The Stars have yet to provide an update on Heiskanen’s status, however, it is safe to assume he will undergo evaluation at some point in the next day or two. Dallas doesn’t play again until Friday against Vancouver.
Blumel Assigned To AHL
- The Stars have returned winger Matej Blumel to the minors, per an announcement from AHL Texas. He has been shuttled back and forth with some frequency in recent days though he did suit up today versus Iowa. The 24-year-old has a goal in seven games with Dallas and is now up to 19 goals and 15 assists in 33 AHL contests.
Stars Recall Lian Bichsel
The Stars recalled top defense prospect Lian Bichsel from AHL Texas on Thursday, per a team announcement. They also reversed yesterday’s paper transaction involving forward Matěj Blümel and added him back to the active roster, which is now full.
Bichsel, 20, made his NHL debut last month and played eight games while filling in for the injured Mathew Dumba. The 2022 18th overall pick recorded a pair of goals and a plus-two rating, averaging 13:43 per game and recording a team-high 14.22 hits per 60 minutes.
Physicality is the principal aspect of the 6’7″, 231-lb defender’s game, but it’s not the only one. The Swiss native is also a skilled breakout passer and has three goals with six assists for nine points in 28 appearances with AHL Texas this season.
Dallas is now carrying eight defensemen on their active roster with no injury designations. It’s unlikely they’d interrupt Bichsel’s development in the AHL to have him sit in the press box, especially with no pressing injury concerns, so he’ll likely enter the lineup Friday against the Golden Knights while veteran and fellow lefty Brendan Smith heads to the press box.
Blümel, 24, has been on the roster for the most part since Jan. 11. The Czech winger, initially selected by the Oilers in the fourth round in 2019, has one goal on 10 shots in seven games with a minus-one rating. He’s been sent to the minors on off days to help the Stars bank additional cap space ahead of the March 7 trade deadline.
Blümel is one of a few players that the Stars have called up to play fourth-line spot duty with injuries to Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin stretching their forward depth. He’s been one of their best AHL producers since arriving in the organization in 2022, averaging 0.85 points per game across 162 career minor-league appearances. This season, he leads the club with 18 goals through 32 games.
Stars Reassign Matěj Blümel In Paper Transaction
- Finishing off the list of paper transactions are the Dallas Stars, who have reassigned forward Matěj Blümel to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. It is the fifth time Blümel has been reassigned to AHL Texas in a season where he’s scored one goal in seven NHL contests. Since he’ll be 25 and won’t hit 80 career games by the end of the season, Blümel will become a ‘Group 6’ unrestricted free agent at the end of the year.
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Stars Reassign Matěj Blümel, Justin Hryckowian In Paper Transaction
- On just about every off day for the Dallas Stars this year, the organization has made a roster move and today was no different. Dallas announced they’ve reassigned forwards Matěj Blümel and Justin Hryckowian to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Both forwards have frequently been taxi players for the Stars this season with the former scoring one goal and six games and the latter scoring one goal in five games. One or both of them are expected back on the roster tomorrow when Dallas squares off against the Carolina Hurricanes.
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Why Stars Haven't Placed Seguin On LTIR Yet
- Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News spoke with (subscription link) assistant GM Mark Janko to go over the reasoning for why Tyler Seguin hasn’t been placed on LTIR just yet which boils down to them simply not needing to do so. Seguin underwent hip surgery six weeks ago, a procedure that will keep him out for at least four months and Assimakopoulos notes that the team doesn’t expect him back at the four-month mark as he’s not expected back until after the regular season. With his absence, it’s fair to say that the Stars will be looking for some scoring depth between now and the March 7th trade deadline, especially if they eventually do move Seguin to LTIR to open up close to $10MM in extra cap space.
Dallas Stars Recall Matěj Blümel, Justin Hryckowian
Jan. 16: The team announced that Blümel is back up today as expected, but Hyry isn’t coming with him. He stays in the AHL while forward Justin Hryckowian, who made his NHL debut in Dallas’ final two games of the 2024 calendar year, gets another crack at playing time. Both are expected to play tonight against the Canadiens while Marchment remains out, and center Roope Hintz also sits after sustaining an upper-body injury in the first period of Tuesday’s win over the Maple Leafs, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Hryckowian averaged just 6:40 per game and went without a point or shot on goal last month.
Jan. 15: The Stars organization announced they’ve reassigned Blümel and his linemate, Arttu Hyry to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. Dallas doesn’t play until tomorrow night when they take on the Montreal Canadiens so both forwards should be expected back on the roster by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. It largely reads as a paper transaction allowing the Stars to accrue precious cap space.
Jan. 11: The Dallas Stars have recalled forward Matěj Blümel from the minor leagues. He is expected to serve as insurance with the Stars headed for back-to-back games this weekend, shares NHL.com’s Bruce LeVine.
Blümel was recalled for a spot start in the NHL lineup on October 19th. He recorded one hit, two shots, and no scoring in the outing. The game brought Blümel up to seven career games in the NHL, combining with his six games and one goal from the 2022-23 campaign. He’s otherwise been a standout in the minor leagues, standing as one of the Texas Stars’ top scorers in each of the last three seasons. He leads the team in goals (18) and points (32) through 32 games this year. He also led Texas in goals last season, with 31 in 71 games – but his 62 points ranked second behind Mavrik Bourque’s 77-point campaign.
Dallas is dealing with long-term injuries to both Mason Marchment and Tyler Seguin. Their absences have pushed Arttu Hyry into a routine role, and solidified Bourque and Oskar Back’s spots in the lineup. But Hyry only has one point in four games, while Bourque and Back have nine and 10 points in 35 games respectively. That meager scoring could make Blümel’s change-of-pace speed a valuable asset as the Stars look to continue their hot 7-2-1 record from their last 10 games.
Dallas Stars Listed As Suitor For John Klingberg
According to TSN’s Darren Dreger, a few more teams have entered the growing market for defenseman John Klingberg. Dreger mentions that the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars have inquired about Klingberg’s market, but he believes the Edmonton Oilers remain the favorites to sign him.
If Klingberg eventually signs with the Avalanche or Stars it’ll likely be with the latter. Dallas is weak on the right-hand side of their defensive core and while it’s difficult to call Klingberg an upgrade on their options given his lengthy absence, he has a positive history with the Stars. In his eight years in Dallas from 2015 to 2022, Klingberg scored 71 goals and 303 assists in 552 games and was an effective powerplay quarterback for many of those years.
Colorado could use some help on the right side with Josh Manson dealing with a recurring injury but Klingberg doesn’t project as the right option for the Avalanche. The team already gets plenty of offense from their top defensive pairing and Klingberg was never a solid shutdown threat even during his prime years with the Stars. The Avalanche will surely inquire about nearly any defenseman making close to or at the league minimum salary but it would be surprising to see them ultimately sign Klingberg.