Afternoon Notes: Seguin, Orlov, Hutson, Ostman
The Dallas Stars may take inspiration from their Central Division rival, the Colorado Avalanche, when it comes to easing a star player back into the lineup. Head coach Pete DeBoer shared that the team is deciding whether or not to place winger Tyler Seguin on an AHL conditioning loan as he eases his way back from a hip injury, per Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports. Seguin has missed Dallas’ last 55 games with injury. He is expected to be back to full health in time for the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but may not be up to full speed in time to contribute to must-win games. Colorado recently assigned team captain Gabriel Landeskog to an AHL conditioning loan. Neither Seguin nor Landeskog have played any AHL games in their careers.
Seguin was a major piece of the Stars lineup at the beginning of the season. He scored nine goals and 20 points in 19 games to start the year, good for third on the team in points and fourth in goals at the time of his injury. It was an offensive explosion for Seguin, who has struggled to cross the 50-point mark in each of his last four healthy seasons. Regardless of a minor-league conditioning stint, Seguin will soon return to a very different Stars lineup – with feisty youngster Logan Stankoven replaced by high-upside veterans Mikko Rantanen and Mikael Granlund. Adding another flashy winger to that mix could make Dallas a sneaky favorite to win games this postseason.
Other notes from around the league:
- Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Dmitry Orlov is set to hit unrestricted free agency this season, and seems unlikely to receive a confident extension from the cap-strapped Hurricanes. Speculation has connected Orlov to his native KHL for much of the season, but Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman dispelled those rumors in his recent 32 Thoughts article. Orlov is instead expected to stick in the NHL, where he’ll no doubt get plenty of attention from needy teams this summer. Orlov fills a premium, well-rounded role in Carolina. He has scored six goals and 26 points in 71 games this season, averages 20 minutes of ice time each game, and leads the Hurricanes defense with 97 hits. Those marks fall closely in line with how Orlov has performed throughout his 13-year career in the NHL – maintaining the role of well-rounded bruiser through tenures with the Washington Capitals and Boston Bruins. Orlov signed a two-year contract with Carolina in the summer of 2023 – his first time entering unrestricted free agency.
- Friedman also reported that there’s plenty of Western Conference interest in Boston University forward Quinn Hutson, with the end of his collegiate career in sight. Hutson has been a major contributor to the Terriers offense over the last three seasons. His scoring has improved in every year – growing from 28 points, to 36, and to 50 this year. Those improvements have been coupled with clear growth in his game. He’s become a stronger skater and more confident in finding space in the middle of the ice. Those improvements – and his scoring track record – lend themselves to clear pro upside. Hutson, who had a late start to his juniors career, went undrafted through the 2020, 2021, and 2022 NHL drafts. With this news, a team could soon reverse their mistake in looking past him and award the third of four Hutson brothers with his pro hockey debut.
- Finally, the Seattle Kraken have reassigned goaltender Victor Ostman to the minor leagues. Ostman made his NHL debut in relief of Joey Daccord on Tuesday, after the latter allowed seven goals on 22 shots through the first two periods. Ostman saved all 12 of the shots he faced in relief. The 24-year-old netminder is playing through his first season of professional hockey, after spending the last four years at the University of Maine. He’s spent the bulk of the year in the ECHL, where he’s recorded a 21-7-4 record and .903 save percentage in 32 games. Ostman has also contributed a stout 2-1-1 record and .927 save percentage in four AHL games this season. He will head back to the AHL with this move, and could get a chance at plenty more ice time with a clean sheet in the NHL under his belt.
Central Notes: Seguin, Middleton, Wagner
Dallas Stars’ head coach Pete DeBoer stated today that alternate captain Tyler Seguin is “close to returning,” per Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas News. However, DeBoer added that Seguin has not yet been cleared for full contact.
Seguin’s season was derailed by a left hip injury that occurred in December and required two surgeries. Prior to the injury, the 33-year-old recorded 9 goals and 20 points and a plus-14 rating in 19 games.
Seguin’s eventual return should support Dallas’ Stanley Cup aspirations, especially with the additions of Mikael Granlund and Mikko Rantanen. Seguin, who remains on long term injured reserve, still has two years remaining on his deal with a $9.85MM cap hit. He has recorded 808 points in 988 career games.
With just five games remaining in the regular season, it will be interesting to see if Seguin can return before the playoffs begin. The Stars currently sit second in the Central Division with 105 points.
Elsewhere in the Central:
- Minnesota Wild defender Jake Middleton didn’t skate at practice today and has been ruled out of tomorrow’s game, per NHL.com reporter Jessi Pierce. Middleton sustained an upper-body injury was hit from behind during last Friday night’s loss to the New York Islanders by forward Bo Horvat and was originally listed as day-to-day. In 66 games on the season, Middleton has recorded eight goals, 20 points, and a plus-12 rating. He has also averaged 21:56 of total ice time per game, recorded 98 hits, and blocked 155 shots. His return will greatly support Minnesota’s hopes to clinch a playoff spot down the stretch. The team currently sits four points ahead of the Flames for the final wild card spot in the west.
- The Colorado Avalanche have recalled forward Chris Wagner from the AHL, per a team announcement. Wagner, 33, has produced one goal and 51 hits in 24 games for the Avs this season. He has added 19 goals and 31 points in the AHL this season. A veteran of 397-career NHL games, Wagner is in the lineup tonight against the Golden Knights, skating on the fourth line with Jack Drury and Parker Kelly.
West Notes: Seguin, Ralph, Hoskin
Dallas Stars’ forward Tyler Seguin returned to practice yesterday prior to their 5-1 win against Seattle and head coach Peter DeBoer noted the star “looks good,” per an NHL release.
DeBoer added that the next step in the process is simply for Seguin to get his legs and cardio back into game shape. This could also lead to a potential conditioning assignment in the AHL, but DeBoer’s quotes serve a positive development in the status of one of the team’s best players. Seguin’s season was derailed by a left hip injury that occurred in December and required two surgeries. Prior to the injury, the 33-year-old recorded 9 goals and 20 points and a plus-14 rating in 19 games.
While he isn’t expected to return until at least mid-April, Seguin’s eventual return should support Dallas’ Stanley Cup aspirations, especially with the additions of Mikael Granlund and Mikko Rantanen. Seguin, who remains on long term injured reserve, still has two years remaining on his deal with a $9.85MM cap hit. He has recorded 808 points in 988 career games.
Elsewhere in the Western Conference:
- Blues’ 2024 second round selection Colin Ralph has entered the transfer portal, ending his time at St. Cloud State University. The 6’5, 225-pound defender spent one season at St. Cloud before opting to enter the portal. In 35 games this season, Ralph, 19, recorded eight points and minus-four rating. Touted for his strong defensive play and size, Ralph will look for a new opportunity in the NCAA. He is among a plethora of defensive prospects in the Blues organization, including Quinton Burns and Matthew Mayich (both currently in the OHL), Lukas Fischer, Hunter Skinner and Samuel Johannesson (all currently in the AHL), and William McIssac (WHL).
- Flames prospect Trevor Hoskin has also entered the portal, per Grand Folks Hearld reporter Brad Elliott Schlossman. The 20-year-old forward spent one season at Niagara University and recorded 12 goals and 39 points in 36 games. Despite tying for first in points this season for the Purple Eagles, Hoskin will look for another collegiate opportunity. In three seasons in the OJHL, he recorded 190 points, including 100 points in his last season. The 6’1, 175 pounder was Calgary’s 2024 fourth round selection.
Stars Hopeful Tyler Seguin Can Return Before End Of Regular Season
Stars forward Tyler Seguin will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip after recently returning to practice, head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters today (including Sam Nestler of DLLS Sports). He’ll still likely be sidelined well into April, but the possibility of him coming off long-term injured reserve – or at least getting a conditioning stint with AHL Texas – before the postseason is coming into view.
Seguin hit the injured list 19 games into the season, undergoing two surgeries on his left hip in December. He was initially given a four-to-six-month return timeline, so the possibility of April game action isn’t too surprising. It’s nonetheless a great sign for Seguin, who had multiple issues in his recovery from a similar surgery on his right hip at the beginning of the decade that threatened his career.
Getting Seguin acclimated in a forward group that’s since acquired Mikael Granlund and Mikko Rantanen is a legitimate priority for Dallas heading into the postseason. The 33-year-old started the season on a tear, posting 9-11–20 with a +14 rating in 19 games. Assuming he doesn’t add to that total, it will stand as his first season above a point-per-game pace since 2015-16. He did so on a line with Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment, a role that’s been filled by Granlund since his acquisition from the Sharks last month. The Finn hasn’t been quite as productive as Seguin was in those minutes, though, posting 3-9–12 in 18 games since the trade.
Even if Seguin’s playoff scoring over the past few years isn’t particularly outstanding, adding him back to a top-nine role – potentially bumping Granlund down or reuniting on a “third” line with Jamie Benn and Wyatt Johnston – is a mouth-watering prospect for DeBoer. Getting him back up to speed to kick off Game 1 of a likely first-round meeting with the Avalanche is paramount, especially since they’ll likely need to focus their efforts on outpacing Colorado’s similarly well-constructed offense to win the series. Star defenseman Miro Heiskanen likely won’t be returning from his knee injury until the second round if they make it.
Seguin still has two years remaining on his deal with a $9.85MM cap hit, so this playoff run won’t be a last hurrah with Dallas. They are, however, likely to lose nearly all of their pending free agents with just $5.32MM in cap room for 2025-26 and up to seven roster spots to fill, per PuckPedia. Since returning from his first hip surgery, Seguin has 79-92–171 in 244 games.
The Stars don’t quite have enough cap space to activate Seguin at present, but it’s doable if they send one player down to the minors. That would likely be rookie Mavrik Bourque, who was a healthy scratch this weekend.
Stars Expecting Tyler Seguin Back, Miro Heiskanen Out For First Round
The postseason availability of two pillars of the Dallas Stars’ lineup became clearer at Tuesday’s practice. Winger Tyler Seguin is continuing to improve and could be healthy before the end of the regular season, head coach Pete DeBoer shared with Brian Rea of Bally Sports Southwest. Seguin has missed Dallas’ last 43 games with a hip injury sustained on December 1st. In more negative news, DeBoer also told Rea that there’s a realistic chance Dallas plays the First Round without star defenseman Miro Heiskanen. Heiskanen has missed Dallas’ last 16 games after sustaining a knee injury on January 28th.
The injury updates bring highs and lows. Adding Seguin back to the lineup will go a long way towards giving Dallas one of the most complete forward groups in the NHL. The 33-year-old Stars legend has continued to produce into the golden years of his career, netting nine goals and 20 points in 19 games before his injury. That’s an 82-game pace of 39 goals and 86 points, which would both stand as career-highs – though the likelihood of Seguin maintaining his point-per-game scoring through an entire season aren’t sky-high. Even then, he’s remained a consistent scorer down the lineup – surpassing the 20 goal and 50 point mark in each of the last two seasons. He fell one point short of 50 in 2021-22.
Seguin sits 12 games back from his 1,000th career game in the NHL. Nearly all of those appearances – 785 over the course of 12 seasons, to be exact – have come with the Dallas Stars. Over that time, Seguin has amassed the fifth-most goals (304), assists (383), and points (687) in franchise history. He’s consistently maintained his hot scoring into the postseason, with 71 points in 133 career playoff games and 13 points in 19 games just last season. Seguin averaged just 16 minutes of playing time prior to his injury – marking a career low, save for his rookie season. But his ability to continue producing in those minutes is invaluable, and should give Dallas a major boost as they near the final games of their season.
Unfortunately, they’ll need all the boost they can get with potential Norris Trophy candidate Heiskanen set for a continued absence. Heiskanen was scoring at a modest pace this season – netting 25 points in 50 games prior to injury – but he made up for it with fantastic impacts in all three zones. The 25-year-old was averaging 25:10 in ice time prior to his injury, marking the fifth-straight season that he’s played more than 24:30 each night. He’s averaged more ice time than any other Star, and performed well enough to support the struggling right-shot defenders like Cody Ceci, Matt Dumba, and Ilya Lyubushkin.
Without Heiskanen in the lineup, Dallas has been forced to turn to 23-year-old Thomas Harley with their top-pair role. Harley has taken full advantage of the opportunity, netting 16 points in 16 games and playing as much as 27 minutes a night since Heiskanen’s injury. It’s been a welcome breakout performance – and one that should supplant Heiskanen’s impact until he’s back to full health. Dallas will certainly hope that’s the case, as they eye a potential best-of-seven series without their clear top defender. If Harley can help push the team through and Heiskanen’s timeline holds true, Dallas could enter the second round with one of the best left-defense corps in the NHL.
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.
Latest On Mason Marchment And Tyler Seguin
Dallas Stars forward Mason Marchment is expected to be out for at least a few more weeks (as per Sean Shapiro of DLLS Sports). Marchment needed surgery after he took a puck in the face in a game against the Minnesota Wild on December 27th. The 29-year-old continues to skate in Texas as he looks to return to the lineup, but his timeline will ultimately come down to his breathing as he will need to wear a cage when he comes back.
Marchment needed surgical intervention due to the fractures in his nose and facial area and there was a delay in even having surgery because of the swelling in the area.
Marchment was having a solid season prior to the injury, posting 12 goals and 15 assists in 33 games and was a fixture in the top six. The Stars initially used Evgenii Dadonov in Marchment’s absence but have moved on to Jamie Benn, who has filled in admirably in the top six, posting four goals and an assist in his last six games.
Shapiro also reported that Dallas forward Tyler Seguin could still be another five or six months before he recovers from hip surgery. The 32-year-old had surgery a little over a month ago to repair a left-side femoral acetabular impingement as well as the hip labrum. Seguin had tried to manage the injury before surgery and was even playing some of the best hockey of his career to start the season. But the wear and tear eventually made the injury unbearable, which forced Seguin to shut down and have surgery. Seguin had nine goals and 11 assists in 19 games, as well as a plus-14 rating.
Tyler Seguin To Undergo Hip Surgery, Out 4-6 Months
The Stars announced that forward Tyler Seguin will undergo extensive hip surgery on Thursday and miss the next four to six months. He’ll have two procedures, both on his left hip – one to address a femoroacetabular impingement creating joint damage and one to repair a labral tear.
It’s not necessarily season-ending, but it’s certainly possible. If he returns at the optimistic end of that timeline, the Stars would still have four or five regular-season games left on their schedule for him to play. A return to play during the postseason is the most likely outcome for Seguin given the wide timeline, though, allowing the Stars to keep his $9.85MM cap hit on long-term injured reserve for a massive amount of spending flexibility at the trade deadline.
Seguin has missed five games this year with a recurring lower-body injury, now clearly a hip issue. He was placed on IR before Monday’s game against Utah. He previously missed three straight games in October.
It’s tough news for Seguin, who missed nearly all of the 2020-21 campaign after undergoing a similar surgery on his right hip. He was extremely open about his arduous recovery process from that procedure, which ended up yielding a separate knee surgery and essentially required him to re-learn how to walk.
Past injury issues aside, the news also puts an incredible damper on what had been something of a renaissance season for the 2010 second-overall pick. Seguin had nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points through his first 19 games, on pace to break the point-per-game mark for the first time in nine years while placing third on the team in scoring behind linemates Matt Duchene and Mason Marchment.
Missing Seguin’s services offensively is also of legitimate concern for Dallas, who ranks ninth in the league with 3.38 goals per game but has also faced underwhelming starts from top-liners Jason Robertson (5-9–14 in 24 GP) and Wyatt Johnston (4-10–14 in 24 GP). They’ll need to turn that around quickly to help the Stars stay in the top three of the Central Division while also looking at some depth players like rookie Mavrik Bourque to take on some of the offensive burden. Bourque has averaged under 11 minutes per game this season after being crowned the AHL’s most valuable player last season, scoring only once in 19 games.
Seguin, 32, is in the sixth season of the eight-year, $78.8MM extension he inked in 2018. He’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2027.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Stars Place Tyler Seguin On IR, Recall Justin Hryckowian
The Dallas Stars have shifted things around ahead of their Monday matchup against Utah. They’ve recalled forward Justin Hryckowian and assigned defender Alexander Petrovic. Additionally, star forward Tyler Seguin has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.
Seguin has carried a lingering lower-body injury through most of the season, and was expected to miss at least one up coming game to nurse the issue. Seguin has been on-fire recently despite the teetering health. He has multi-point games in two of Dallas’ last four outings, including a two-point effort on Friday. The Stars’ star has nine goals and 20 points in 19 games this season, ranking third on the team in scoring.
Seguin will be replaced by young forward Hryckowian, who’s yet to make his NHL debut. The 23-year-old winger is in the first full season of his career. He played in 12 AHL games, and scored three points, at the end of last season – signing with the Texas Stars as an undrafted college free agent. He’s played exceptionally well in the pro setting, with a team-leading 16 points in 17 AHL games this season.
Meanwhile, Petrovic will return to the minors after two games, and no scoring, on the Dallas roster. Petrovic has nine points in 14 AHL games this season, the highest scoring pace of his 14-year professional career. He’s totaled 50 points in 266 career NHL games; and 160 points in 441 AHL games.
Central Notes: Predators, Drouin, Seguin, Martinez
The Nashville Predators were expecting better than a 4-7-1 record through the first month of the regular season, especially after spending $108.5MM to bring in Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei in free agency. Still, despite the poor start, it doesn’t appear the team is ready to hit the panic button yet.
In an article from The Fourth Period, David Pagnotta said, “Barry Totz is certainly going to be doing his due diligence and looking around to see what may be available down the road. But right now, as you mentioned, four points out of a playoff spot, despite their rough start to the new season, I don’t really get the sense that they’re looking or itching to make an impact type of move or a panic type of move just now.”
The issues in Nashville fall on both sides of the ice. The offense hasn’t generated much enthusiasm with 2.42 GF/G and the defense hasn’t been able to hold down the fort with a 3.42 GA/G through 12 games. There are still some encouraging signs with the Predators sitting eighth in the league with a 52.8% CorsiFor% and the biggest disparity in actual goal differential minus expected goal differential according to Hockey Reference. Time will tell if Nashville has fundamental problems with their play or if they have to wait a bit longer for pucks to start bouncing their way.
Other Central notes:
- The Colorado Avalanche are already getting a major boost to their forward core with the return of Artturi Lehkonen. According to Meghan Angley of Guerilla Sports, the team could get another reinforcement in the form of Jonathan Drouin. Angley shares that Drouin is close to returning from his upper-body injury which has kept him sidelined for much of the year aside from the opening contest. Lehkonen and the return of Drouin give Colorado two bonafide top-six wingers with Valeri Nichushkin expected to return in a few days.
- Thanks to a lower-body injury, Dallas Stars veteran forward Tyler Seguin has only participated in seven of the team’s 11 contests. Robert Tiffin of D Magazine shares that the lower-body injury shouldn’t keep Seguin out for an extended time but it will likely be something the team has to manage all year. Seguin may inevitably land around his 2023-24 totals of 68 games played but has gotten off to a strong start this year with five goals and nine points in his limited action.
- Mario Tirabassi of CHGO Blackhawks reports veteran defenseman Alec Martinez resumed skating this morning before the team’s practice. Martinez, who brings Stanley Cup pedigree to a relatively young Blackhawks roster, has been sidelined on October 15th due to a right groin injury. In his stead, Chicago has relied on a combination of young defensemen Nolan Allan, Wyatt Kaiser, and Alex Vlasic on the left side of the defense.