Stars GM Jim Nill Comments On Deadline Plans
- Stars GM Jim Nill spoke with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun on Sunday, confirming that he’ll be aggressive in adding depth to the Dallas blue line over the next week and a half. Nill said he’s still in the “monitoring” stage of determining the cost of potential trade targets, which LeBrun confirms includes Flames veteran shutdown man Chris Tanev (although Nill declined to comment). Nill also said the team will get top shutdown prospect Lian Bichsel, currently on loan to Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League, back before the end of the season and could be a depth option to make his NHL debut down the stretch or in the postseason if injuries strike.
Jean-Guy Talbot Passes Away
Longtime Canadiens defenseman Jean-Guy Talbot passed away Thursday, per an obituary from NHL.com columnist Dave Stubbs. Talbot was 91 years old.
Born in Cap-de-la-Madeleine, Québec, in 1932, Talbot was the second-last surviving member of the group of 12 players who remained with the Canadiens during their NHL-record five consecutive championships from 1956 to 1960. Those were the first five full seasons of Talbot’s NHL career – he would go on to win the Cup twice more with Montreal in 1965 and 1966.
Talbot was among the Habs’ many key figures of the late Original Six era, playing over 800 games in a Montreal sweater between 1955 and 1967. While his career-best 1961-62 campaign didn’t result in an eighth Stanley Cup win, Talbot’s five goals, 42 assists, 47 points, and +30 rating in 70 games placed him third in Norris Trophy voting behind the Blackhawks’ Pierre Pilote and the Rangers’ Doug Harvey. He was also named to the year-end All-Star team for the only time in his career.
His Montreal tenure ended when the Canadiens left him unprotected in the 1967 Expansion Draft, where the Minnesota North Stars selected him. He was traded to the Red Wings just four games into the 1967-68 season, though, and switched teams for a second time that year when the Blues claimed him off waivers from Detroit in January. Talbot remained in St. Louis for most of the remainder of his career, closing out his playing days briefly with the Sabres after a trade in 1970-71.
After retirement, Talbot stayed in the game as a coach, taking over behind the Blues bench in 1972-73 after the team fired Al Arbour, who would win four straight Stanley Cups with the Islanders between 1980 and 1983. Talbot resigned from his post with the Blues late in the 1973-74 season and would coach the WHA’s Denver Spurs in 1975-76, which relocated to Ottawa mid-season before folding. He returned to the NHL as the coach of the Rangers in 1977-78 but only spent one season behind the bench.
Talbot resided in Trois-Rivières, Québec, and is survived by his wife of over 70 years, Pierrette, two sons, a daughter, and five granddaughters. PHR extends its deepest condolences to Talbot’s family and the Canadiens organization.
Afternoon Notes: Pouliot, Jankowski, Johnson
The Dallas Stars made a move today as they’ve assigned defenseman Derrick Pouliot to the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League. Pouliot was called up earlier in the week and dressed in three games for Dallas, posting no points while averaging 13:15 of ice time per game. Pouliot’s demotion could mean that one of Jani Hakanpää or Nils Lundkvist is set to return.
The 30-year-old Pouliot was the eighth overall pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft and has never been able to establish himself as a full-time NHLer. At this point in his career, he continues to be a productive AHL defenseman and a good depth option for NHL teams. Pouliot has eight goals and 23 assists in 44 AHL games this season.
In other afternoon notes:
- The Nashville Predators have reassigned Mark Jankowski to the Milwaukee Admirals of the AHL. Jankowski had a goal in the Predators’ 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings last night and has two goals in seven NHL games this season. The 29-year-old was also a first-round pick in the 2012 NHL entry draft and is having a terrific AHL season with 15 goals and 32 assists in 40 games. Jankowski will rejoin a Milwaukee team that has won 18 games in a row.
- Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reported that Buffalo Sabres defenseman Erik Johnson missed practice this morning due to an illness. Johnson joined the likes of Victor Olofsson and Eric Comrie who have also been dealing with an illness. Johnson will not play tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets and will likely be replaced on the third pairing by Ryan Johnson. The Sabres will be without several regular defensemen as Owen Power also remains sidelined with a hand injury. Johnson has had his name in trade rumors as of late and will likely continue to hear that as the trade deadline nears.
Logan Stankoven Re-Assigned To AHL
- Logan Stankoven’s NHL debut will have to wait. After being recalled earlier today for precautionary reasons, the Stars announced (Twitter link) that the 20-year-old was returned to AHL Texas. Stankoven has been dominant in his first professional campaign, notching 24 goals and 33 assists in 46 games to lead the AHL in scoring.
Dallas Stars Recall Logan Stankoven, Loan Alexander Petrovic
The Dallas Stars have recalled top prospect Logan Stankoven to the NHL roster. The 20-year-old is expected to be a game-time decision for Dallas’ Tuesday night matchup, based on the availability of other Stats forwards. Stankoven is currently playing out his rookie season in the AHL where he leads the entire AHL in scoring with 24 goals and 57 points in 46 games. Dallas has also loaned defenseman Alexander Petrovic back to the AHL, after recalling him on Monday.
Stankoven’s scoring explosion in his first professional season has vindicated a lot of excitement fans have had for him. He leads all AHL rookies in scoring by an impressive 20 points. Stankoven has matched the scoring totals of last year’s rookie scoring leader, Tye Karte, who scored his 57 in 72 games, and has put up the highest point-per-game pace from an AHL rookie since Jack Quinn in the 2021-22 season.
Stankoven has been the confident lead of a very strong Texas Stars offense, which is also supporting the AHL’s second-leading scorer, Mavrik Bourque, who has 55 points in 46 games of his own. The Stars lead the league in scoring, with 165 goals in 46 games putting them at a comfy 3.59 goal-per-game average.
While they’ll lose their top centerman, Texas is getting back a focal piece of their defense in veteran pro Alex Petrovic. Petrovic has spent the last three seasons with the AHL’s Stars, appeared in 71 games in both 2021-22 and 2022-23. He’s on pace to match those games played again this year, after a brief call-up earned him his first NHL game since the 2018-19 season. Petrovic went without a point in the outing, though he did record a -1. The 31-year-old defenseman has 16 points in 44 AHL games this season.
Matt Duchene Out With Lower-Body Injury
Already without defensemen Nils Lundkvist and Jani Hakanpaa due to injury, the Dallas Stars are also absent defenseman Miro Heiskanen today, as he will miss the action due to the birth of his child (X Link). Calling up defensemen Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot this morning, Dallas’ depth on the blue line will be tested even further.
To add insult to injury, the team also announced that forward Matt Duchene would miss today’s game against the Boston Bruins due to a lower-body injury. In a hotly contested Central Division playoff race, the Stars have lost five regular players in a matter of days.
Playing well over their last 10 games with a 7-1-2 record, Dallas will look to keep that successful stretch going as they look to retain their throne at the top of the Central Division. With a three-point cushion, the Stars are currently on a four-game road trip against Eastern Conference opponents before finally returning to Central Division action on February 27th.
Stars Recall Alex Petrovic, Derrick Pouliot
The Stars have recalled defensemen Alex Petrovic and Derrick Pouliot from AHL Texas, the team announced Monday morning. In a corresponding transaction, the Stars returned forward Matěj Blümel to Texas to stay compliant with the 23-player roster limit.
Dallas summoned Blümel, 23, yesterday to optimize their accruable cap space limit before placing winger Evgenii Dadonov on LTIR. Blümel’s $925K cap hit was the highest of any player they had stored in the minors aside from defenseman Lian Bichsel, who is on loan to Rögle BK of the Swedish Hockey League. He allowed the Stars to capture their ACSL at $83.37MM, just $13K short of the salary cap.
However, defense is Dallas’ positional need with Jani Hakanpää and Nils Lundkvist sidelined with upper-body injuries. At least one recall on defense was necessary to avoid dressing 13 forwards and five defensemen against the Bruins for Monday’s Presidents’ Day matinee.
By swapping Blümel for an extra defenseman, the Stars have one backup in case of further injuries. If they want to carry an extra forward while Dadonov is on LTIR, they still can – they have $1.625MM remaining in their LTIR salary pool after executing today’s transactions. However, it would require moving Hakanpää to IR to free up a roster spot.
As such, one of today’s two recalls will make their season (and Stars) debut in Boston, likely Petrovic, who would replace Hakanpää as the only right-shot defenseman in the Dallas lineup with Lundkvist on IR. If so, it would be the 31-year-old’s first NHL game in over five years, last suiting up with the Oilers on Feb. 16, 2019.
Petrovic has bounced around the AHL since falling out of an NHL role, signing a pair of two-way deals with the Bruins and Flames before joining the Stars in 2021. He’s signed three straight one-year, two-way contracts to remain in the Dallas organization, clearing waivers at the beginning of the season in every occurrence and only seeing recalls to serve as a Black Ace during playoff runs in 2022 and 2023. Monday marks his first in-season recall as a member of the Stars.
The Panthers’ 2010 second-round pick played in 263 NHL games with Florida and Edmonton between 2012 and 2019, recording five goals, 45 assists and 50 points with a -10 rating and 360 PIMs. The Edmonton native struggled in his most recent NHL showing, recording only two assists in 35 games with the Panthers and Oilers in 2018-19 while averaging bottom-pairing minutes to complement a career-worst -15 rating and underwhelming possession metrics.
Petrovic has been a stabilizing force for the Stars’ up-and-comers in Texas, though, serving as an alternate captain since arriving in Cedar Park in 2021. Through 44 games this year, he has three goals, 13 assists, 16 points, and a +5 rating. He’s coming off arguably his best two-way season as a pro in 2022-23, when he notched a career-high 27 points in 71 games and a +34 rating.
The 30-year-old Pouliot will likely serve as Dallas’ seventh defenseman until one of Hakanpää or Lundkvist is ready to return. The eighth overall selection in the 2012 draft by the Penguins has, like Petrovic, settled into a consistent minor-league role at this stage in his career. However, he does have much more recent NHL experience, recording two assists and a -1 rating in eight games with the Sharks last year and posting four assists and a +6 rating in 11 games split between the Golden Knights and Kraken in 2021-22.
Pouliot signed a one-year, two-way deal ($775K/$325K) to join the Stars on Jul. 4, 2023, and passed through waivers unclaimed during training camp. He leads Texas blue-liners with eight goals, 23 assists and 31 points in 44 games.
Dallas Stars Recall Matěj Blümel, Place Evgenii Dadonov On LTIR
In an announcement coming from the Dallas Stars organization, the team has recalled forward Matěj Blümel from their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars. In a corresponding move, the team has placed forward Evgenii Dadonov on Long-Term Injured Reserve, retroactively to February 10th.
With Dadonov now expected to miss both the next 10 games and 24 days for the Stars, it is only natural that the team decided to fill in his lost minutes with a depth option from the AHL. However, it does come as a slight surprise that the Stars did not opt to call up either Logan Stankoven or Mavrik Bourque, who are first and second in league scoring, respectively.
Nevertheless, Blümel is no pushover offensively, as he’s scored 20 goals through 46 games for Texas this season, good for second on the team in that category. Furthermore, unlike Stankoven and Bourque, Blümel does have prior NHL experience, scoring one goal in six games for the Stars last season.
At the end of the day, this decision may ultimately benefit both Stankoven and Bourque in the long run, as they will both be able to continue to play high-leverage minutes for a competitive team. Well on their way to a playoff run this spring, Texas is sporting a 24-17-3-2 record up to this point sitting second in the AHL’s Central Division.
Jani Hakanpaa Leaves Game With Upper-Body Injury
- Dallas Stars defenseman Jani Hakanpää left the team’s Saturday night game early with an upper-body injury and didn’t return. The Stars are already missing Nils Lundkvist to injury, testing the team’s defensive depth. They have so far not had to rely on any AHL defensemen, though veteran Derrick Pouliot will likely be a go-to option if they need to fill a hole in the lineup.
Nils Lundkvist In Concussion Protocol
After leaving last night’s game against the Nashville Predators with a reported upper-body injury, it appears Dallas Stars defenseman Nils Lundkvist could miss Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers as well. Speaking about the injury this morning, Bruce LeVine of 96.7 The Ticket reported that Lundkvist is experiencing concussion-like symptoms and the team would know more about his status tomorrow.
If Lundkvist is set to miss a significant amount of time with a concussion, it may motivate Stars General Manager Jim Nill to make a move for a defenseman well before the trade deadline, as the team has reportedly been sniffing around the defensive market. Including a few minutes in last night’s game, Lundkvist has registered two goals and 15 points in 43 games for Dallas this season while averaging just over 15 minutes of ice time per game.
With Joel Hanley being the likely candidate to fill in for Lundkvist, the Stars will likely find more pressure on themselves to round out their defensive core. Although the top unit of Thomas Harley and Miro Heiskanen has played well for the team up to this point in the season, a right-handed shot defenseman to put next to Esa Lindell should become the team’s top priority over the next three weeks.