Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Stars Rumors

Texas Stars Sign Six Players

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Texas Stars have added six players on AHL contracts for the 2020-21 season, bringing in a ton of experience and depth for their minor league run. Nicholas Baptiste, Cole Schneider, Nick Moutrey, Derek Barach, Nikita Scherbak have all joined the team, while Josh Melnick re-signs after spending last season in Texas.

These aren’t just minor league depth pieces, as Baptiste, Schneider, and Scherbak actually all have NHL experience. Baptiste, 25, was a third-round pick of the Buffalo Sabres in 2013 and played 47 games at the highest level. He split last season between the Toronto Marlies and Belleville Senators, scoring 11 points in 35 games.

Schneider, 30, has just six games of experience at the NHL level but has been a force in the AHL for years. Last season he recorded 18 goals and 46 points in just 54 games for the Milwaukee Admirals.

Scherbak, 25, may be the most interesting name of the bunch, given he was a first-round pick in 2014. Selected 26th overall by the Montreal Canadiens, he received 37 games at the NHL level but never could quite make his mark. After spending some time in the Los Angeles Kings system, he left for the KHL last season and recorded 11 points in 31 games.

Texas will begin their season on February 5 against the Iowa Wild.

Taxi Squad Shuffle: 01/22/21

at CDT | by 1 Comment

It appears as though there will be daily movement this season between the active roster and taxi squad. Although some major names may be highlighted in separate articles, this is where you’ll find the majority of shuffle news each day.

  • With no other real options, the Pittsburgh Penguins have recalled Pierre-Olivier Joseph from their taxi squad under emergency conditions. The young defenseman is expected to make his NHL debut tonight against the  New York Rangers. Joseph, 21, was the 23rd overall pick in 2017 and recorded 17 points in 52 games for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins last season.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have elevated Nathan Gerbe from the taxi squad, moving Emil Bemstrom down in his place. The 33-year-old Gerbe hasn’t played yet this season but recorded ten points in 30 games last year for the club.
  • After clearing waivers, Brandon Pirri was re-assigned to the Chicago Blackhawks taxi squad. Carl Soderberg and Brandon Hagel have both been moved to the active roster. Soderberg, 35, has yet to play this season and is expected to make his debut tonight against the Detroit Red Wings.
  • The Washington Capitals have recalled Brian Pinho from the taxi squad as they try to fill out a roster card without their four Russian stars. Pinho, 25, scored 20 goals and 37 points in 62 games for the Hershey Bears last season and made his NHL debut in the postseason bubble.
  • Givani Smith has been recalled from the Red Wings taxi squad, giving them another forward option as more players find themselves on the COVID list. The Red Wings start a two-game series with the Blackhawks tonight with a chance to climb even further up the Central Division table.  Taro Hirose was also brought up to the taxi squad.
  • The Edmonton Oilers have activated James Neal off injured reserve, meaning someone needed to go to the taxi squad. That someone is Joakim Nygard, who has been moved off the active roster. Olivier Rodrigue, who had been serving as the taxi squad goaltender, has also swapped places with Dylan Wells. Rodrigue will report to the AHL while Wells is now the third-string option for Edmonton.
  • Samuel Morin has been moved back to the taxi squad as the Philadelphia Flyers wait for their next game. Morin, who is making the switch from defense to forward this season, has yet to get into a game.
  • Brogan Rafferty has been moved to the taxi squad by the Vancouver Canucks, as they continue to try and work out their defensive issues. Rafferty had been up on emergency loan while the Canucks dealt with several injuries, but is now back down on the team’s day off.
  • Victor Soderstrom is expected to make his NHL debut tonight after being recalled from the taxi squad by the Arizona Coyotes. The team has moved Jordan Gross down for the time being, allowing their young phenom to get into a game. Soderstrom, 19, was the 11th overall pick in 2019 and quickly became one of the top defensive prospects in the entire league.  Aaron Ness was sent to the minors while Ivan Prosvetov was added to the taxi squad.
  • The Los Angeles Kings have assigned both Lias Andersson and Jaret Anderson-Dolan to the taxi squad while the team prepares for a four-game road trip that takes them to St. Louis tomorrow. The Kings are coming off their first win of the season and looking to continue to hold their own in a tough West Division.
  • The Nashville Predators have recalled Mathieu Olivier from the taxi squad while also activating Mikael Granlund to the active roster after he completed his quarantine protocols.  Olivier leads the Preds in hits in the early going this season with eight while Granlund will make his season debut.
  • Anaheim has made a long list of moves, per CapFriendly.  The Ducks have recalled David Backes, Max Jones, and Josh Mahura to the NHL roster while Anthony Stolarz and Isac Lundestrom are now on the taxi squad.  Sonny Milano has been placed on IR while Lukas Dostal has been sent to AHL San Diego.
  • The Boston Bruins have shuffled Trent Frederic and Jack Studnicka back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The two have been shuffled multiple times already this season to bank cap room and will likely be recalled for tomorrow’s game against Philadelphia.
  • Colorado has recalled Martin Kaut on an emergency basis, per CapFriendly.  Conor Timmins was sent back to the taxi squad in a corresponding move.  Erik Johnson isn’t expected to play tonight and Kaut’s addition will allow the Avalanche to dress 12 forwards and six defensemen.
  • The Islanders have shuffled Kieffer Bellows back to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  The winger has played in all four games this season but with them off until Sunday, New York can save nearly $15K in salary by sending him back for two days.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning have flipped defensemen again as Andreas Borgman has been recalled with Luke Schenn going to the taxi squad, per CapFriendly.  While they’re so deep into LTIR where the small cap savings will be irrelevant, doing so extends Schenn’s waiver exemption a little longer.
  • Vegas has recalled Cody Glass from the taxi squad, notes David Schoen of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.  Nicolas Hague has been sent back down to the taxi squad, meaning the Golden Knights will go back to dressing 13 forwards and just five defensemen.

This page will be updated throughout the day as more moves are officially announced. 

Julius Honka Clears Waivers

at CDT | by 12 Comments

Jan 21: Honka has cleared waivers according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. Sometimes, in cases like this, clearing actually increases the trade value of an asset since it can now be assigned directly to the minor leagues. We’ll have to wait and see what happens with Honka.

Jan 20: The Dallas Stars have placed Julius Honka on waivers today, according to Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic. The move comes just as the Stars prepare for their first game of the season later this week and after the team started making their final cuts. The Stars have also sent Joseph Cecconi, Riley Damiani, Tye Felhaber, Ben Gleason, Adam Mascherin, Jerad Rosburg, Ryan Shea and Riley Tufte to the minor leagues.

The focus here will be placed on Honka though, given his status as a first-round pick that never panned out. The 25-year-old defenseman spent last season overseas playing in Finland but agreed to return to the Stars organization and signed a one-year, two-way deal in October. Selected 14th overall in 2014, he has played just 87 games in the NHL and none since January of 2019.

What likely frustrated Honka and led to his previous trade requests and departure to Finland, was that he hasn’t received much minor league play either. Instead, the young defenseman found himself in the press box on most nights, scratched for months at a time. His development has stagnated, though there still may be some upside left in the former Swift Current Broncos star.

For Honka, a claim would likely be the best thing for his career, given that even after this season ends he still won’t be an unrestricted free agent unless the Stars let him go. Getting out of Dallas may be the only chance he has to really play at the NHL level; if he clears tomorrow, he’ll likely head to the taxi squad or the AHL.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/20/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. Other than the Montreal Canadiens, listed as TBA, and the Dallas Stars, the other 29 teams are covered on today’s list:

Carolina – Warren Foegele, Jordan Martinook, Jaccob Slavin, Jordan Staal, Teuvo Teravainen
Columbus – Mikko Koivu
Detroit – Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri
Florida – Juho Lammikko
Minnesota Wild – Alex Stalock
Nashville – Mikael Granlund
New Jersey – Jesper Bratt*
NY Islanders – Josh Bailey*
Philadelphia – Shayne Gostisbehere
Tampa Bay –  Curtis McElhinney
Washington Capitals – Evgeny Kuznetsov*, Dmitry Orlov*, Alex Ovechkin*, Ilya Samsonov*
Winnipeg – Anton Forsberg, Tucker Poolman

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

Players removed today: Eric Comrie, New Jersey Devils; Blake Coleman, Tampa Bay Lightning.

As for the missing teams, the Canadiens are on the road in Vancouver and have until 5:00pm local time to report, but are not expected to have any players in the protocol. As has been the case so far this season, the league declined to identify anyone from Dallas and will hold off on doing so until they are able to play in their first game, now scheduled for January 22. They had a significant outbreak early in camp as 17 of the 27 players that tested positive in training camp were from the Stars.

*denotes new addition

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/17/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol. Today’s list is as follows:

Carolina – Jordan Staal
Columbus – Mikko Koivu
Detroit – Christian Djoos
Minnesota – Alex Stalock
Nashville – Mikael Granlund
New Jersey – Eric Comrie
Philadelphia – Shayne Gostisbehere
Tampa Bay – Curtis McElhinney
Vancouver – Jordie Benn
Winnipeg – Anton Forsberg; Tucker Poolman

No new names were added to the list. J.T. Miller did clear and has joined the Canucks in Alberta.

As has been the case so far this season, the league declined to identify anyone from Dallas and will hold off on doing so until they are able to play in their first game, now scheduled for January 22. They had a significant outbreak early in camp as 17 of the 27 players that tested positive in training camp were from the Stars.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/16/21

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Each day, the NHL will publicly release the list of players that are unavailable to their respective teams due to being in COVID-19 protocol.  Today’s list is as follows:

Carolina – Jordan Staal
Columbus – Mikko Koivu
Detroit – Christian Djoos
Minnesota – Alex Stalock
Nashville – Mikael Granlund
New Jersey – Eric Comrie
Philadelphia – Shayne Gostisbehere
Tampa Bay – Curtis McElhinney*
Vancouver – Jordie Benn; J.T. Miller
Winnipeg – Anton Forsberg; Tucker Poolman*

*denotes new addition

As a reminder, inclusion on this list does not mean that a player has tested positive for Coronavirus or even that they have been confirmed as a close contact to another positive person. Included in the NHL’s list of possible reasons for someone being on the list is are the following:

(1) an initial positive test which remains unconfirmed until confirmatory testing is completed pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (2) mandated isolation for symptomatic individuals pursuant to the Positive Test Protocol; (3) required quarantine as a high-risk close contact in accordance with the Positive Test Protocol; (4) isolation based on a confirmed positive test result and/or; (5) quarantine for travel or other reasons as outlined in the COVID-19 Protocol

As has been the case so far this season, the league declined to identify anyone from Dallas and will hold off on doing so until they are able to play in their first game, now scheduled for January 22. They had a significant outbreak early in camp as 17 of the 27 players that tested positive in training camp were from the Stars.

Stars Still Carrying Well Over The NHL Maximum Roster Size

at CDT | by 4 Comments

Barring a sudden change of heart, it appears as if Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle’s ironman streak of 866 games will come to an end tomorrow as George Richards of Florida Hockey Now relays (Twitter link) that the veteran was once again not skating with the group that’s expected to play.  He has clearly fallen out of favor but his contract ($6.35MM through 2022-23 with a no-move clause) will make such a move tricky.  Nevertheless, Yandle’s agent Jerry Buckley told Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic (subscription link) that he views this situation as nothing more than public pressure to get him to accept a trade:

This doesn’t have anything to do with performance. Keith is one of the top offensive defensemen in the NHL. He was last year, he has been over the last three years. And this decision was made a week before training camp. So it doesn’t have to do with performance. This is the general manager’s attempt to pressure Keith and make him uncomfortable and to waive this no-trade clause.

While Yandle has certainly been prolific offensively over the last three seasons – only four blueliners have more points than him in that span – it’s his play in his own end that has deteriorated as well in that span.  Panthers GM Bill Zito will have his work cut out for him to try to move Yandle (assuming he’s willing to waive his trade protection).

More from the Central Division:

  • While most teams have gotten down to the NHL-mandated maximum roster size of 23, Dallas remains nowhere near that number. Matthew DeFranks of the Dallas Morning News examines the composition of their roster which currently has 36 players with various designations on it.  They sit just $228 under their LTIR-inflated cap ceiling but with the way their roster is constructed, they’ll have plenty of cap flexibility when they eventually get down to the proper roster size.
  • Red Wings winger Bobby Ryan will make his debut with his new team on Saturday, notes MLive’s Ansar Khan. He missed the last few days of training camp and Thursday’s game against Carolina due to an undisclosed injury which he has recovered from.  The 33-year-old signed a one-year, $1MM deal with Detroit after being bought out by Ottawa this offseason and is expected to immediately jump onto the number one power play unit.

Six Dallas Stars Players Test Positive For COVID-19

at CDT | by 11 Comments

January 15: The Stars will begin their season on January 22 against the Nashville Predators. Games scheduled for January 14, 15, 17, and 19 have been rescheduled for later in the season, as the NHL details in today’s release. Several other games have been rescheduled as well, though they’re much further down the road.

The changes mean that Florida and Tampa Bay, the two opponents that were supposed to take on the Stars to start the season, will have substantial breaks. Tampa Bay for instance plays tonight and then will not play again until next Thursday, while the Panthers are still waiting until Sunday to start their year. The Stars will now play a 56-game schedule in just 108 days.

January 8: The Dallas Stars will not start the season on time. The team has released the following statement, explaining the sudden cancelation of practice today:

The National Hockey League announced today that six Dallas Stars players and two staff members have recently confirmed positive tests for the COVID-19 virus. Those individuals are self-isolating and following CDC and league protocols. As a result of the positive tests, and as an appropriate precaution, the team’s training facilities have been closed, effective immediately, and will remain closed for several days while further daily testing and contact tracing is conducted. The league is in the process of reviewing and revising the Stars’ regular season schedule with the expectation that the team will not open its 2020-21 season earlier than Tuesday, January 19.

The Stars organization has, and will continue to follow, all recommended guidelines aimed at protecting the health and safety of its players, staff and community at large as set by the NHL, local, state and national agencies.

The Stars were set to open the season against the Florida Panthers on January 14, a game that will obviously have to be postponed. Games on January 15 and 17 are also in jeopardy as well.  The league did not release the names of the players that have tested positive.

If the other major professional sports are any indication, this is the first of many outbreaks this season. The league and teams will need to be flexible and adapt to changing schedules and protocols on a near-daily basis, leaving roster depth as arguably the most important thing in the NHL this year. It’s hard to imagine that the Stars will have their full contingent of players even by January 19, though no specifics have been released in regards to that.

COVID Protocol Related Absences: 01/13/21

at CDT | by 2 Comments

As reported earlier, beginning today, and each day for the remainder of the 2020-21 season, the NHL will be sharing the names of players who are “unavailable” to play or practice due to any number of factors that place them under the league’s COVID-19 Protocol. Here is the list of players for today, Wednesday, January 13:

F Lawson Crouse, Arizona Coyotes
F Karson Kuhlman, Boston Bruins
D Erik Johnson, Colorado Avalanche
F Mikko Koivu, Columbus Blue Jackets
D Christian Djoos, Detroit Red Wings
F Darren Helm, Detroit Red Wings
F Gaetan Haas, Edmonton Oilers
F James Neal, Edmonton Oilers
D Markus Nutivaara, Florida Panthers
D Kurtis MacDermid, Los Angeles Kings
G Cal Petersen, Los Angeles Kings
D Sean Walker, Los Angeles Kings
G Alex Stalock, Minnesota Wild
F Mikael Granlund, Nashville Predators
D Luca Sbisa, Nashville Predators
F Justin Richards, New York Rangers
D Shayne Gostisbehere, Philadelphia Flyers
F Kasperi Kapanen, Pittsburgh Penguins
F Maxim Letunov, San Jose Sharks
D Jordie Benn, Vancouver Canucks
F J.T. Miller, Vancouver Canucks
F Nikolaj Ehlers, Winnipeg Jets

*NOTE: The league declined to list any specific members of the Dallas Stars at this time. The team is currently recovering from an extensive breakout.

NHL Issues Training Camp COVID-19 Testing Results

at CDT | by 1 Comment

With the NHL finally on the precipice of a long-awaited new season, the league has decided to share how their health and safety protocols have done so far in hopes that they can continue to improve as the year moves forward. Through two weeks of training camp for 31 organizations, the league estimates that over 12,000 tests for the COVID-19 virus have been administered. The result: just 27 of more than 1,200 players tested received a positive test, with daily testing ongoing for each club since as early as December 30.

These results – a positive test rate of less than 2.25% –  are obviously great news for the league and all of its stakeholders as the season is about to get underway. Yet, one additional fact makes the results even more impressive. The league notes that 17 of the 27 players to test positive were members of the Dallas Stars. The Stars just returned to practice today after a four-day facility shutdown amid the virus and the league notes that “most of (Dallas’ positive players) are asymptomatic and… recovering without complications.” The Stars already had their opening week schedule adjusted but are on track for their new Opening Night of January 19 in Tampa.

Elsewhere around the league, that leaves just ten positive cases across 30 clubs, 21 of which were not impcted at all – an impressive mark to say the least. Given the struggles that some other major sports leagues had when returning to a non-bubble playing environment, the NHL appears to be on the right track. While the Stars have shown that a team-wide outbreak is possible and there will certainly be increased risks associated with travel, NHL teams, players, and fans all have to feel optimistic about the NHL being able to complete the coming season without major delay.

The league also included in their statement that their policy toward COVID publicity will change moving forward. Although a reason for a player’s absence was not required this summer during the expanded postseason nor during training camp, that anonymity has been removed. The release reads that “Effective with the start on the 2020-21 regular season, the NHL will provide regular updates on the results of tests administered to Players, including the identities of Players.”

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

Do not Sell or Share My Personal Information

scroll to top