Dallas Stars Should Probably Cancel Everything Now
By Josh Clark
Injuries are becoming a consistent occurrence for the Dallas Stars over the past few weeks. At this point, they may want to cancel all events while they’re still somewhat ahead.
It’s very rare to see more than three or four players fall victim to injury at the same time in a given season on a professional hockey team. Usually different players get injured at different times, and most are short-term except for those one or two unlucky guys that endure season-ending casualties.
You never expect something that horrific to happen to your favorite hockey team right in the middle of the regular season. Whether your team is defending first place or in the middle of a playoff push, the last thing you want to see is the lineup falling apart.
The Dallas Stars are surprisingly enough finding a way to suffer an even more ludicrous phenomenon: five players injured before the preseason even begins.
“In all the years I have never seen this before,” Stars head coach Lindy Ruff told Stars Inside Edge about the sudden amassment of injuries.
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Friday, September 9th is when the injury plague struck the Dallas Stars first. Forward Tyler Seguin suffered a hairline fracture in his heel that Friday against Team USA in a preliminary game at the World Cup of Hockey. Seguin was transported back to Dallas where the injury was discovered and his timetable for recovery is uncertain. He will be reexamined on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Radek Faksa and Ales Hemsky, both members of Team Czech Republic, have also found themselves stung by the injury bug at the World Cup as well. On September 17th, the Czechs began their quest in the World Cup of Hockey against Team Canada.
In the midst of the game, Faksa endured a brutal hit from Ryan Getzlaf while skating with his head down. He left the game and did not return. He has since been diagnosed with concussion-like symptoms and been off the ice, but is expected to practice tomorrow.
Ales Hemsky, on the other hand, tweaked a groin on Thursday evening in a game against Team USA. He is expected to miss 7-10 days.
But just when you think that losing two starting NHL centers is unbearable enough, the Dallas Stars were forced a step further. On the first day of training camp this past Friday, center Cody Eakin was injured in a collision. The lower-body injury will keep Eakin sidelined for six weeks, meaning he will likely miss the first 12-15 games of the year.
So who could fill in one of the voids at center? Devin Shore, you say? Wrong. Shore limped off the ice during Saturday’s training camp session after suffering an injury and is now expected to miss ‘a couple of weeks,’ according to head coach Lindy Ruff.
What can the Dallas Stars do now? Maybe try and use Jason Dickinson? Well, he’s a rookie and is still recovering from offseason hip surgery. How about longtime Texas Star Travis Morin? He’s recovering from an illness at the moment.
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Luckily there were no injuries (at least so far as have been reported) in this morning’s scrimmage as training camp wrapped up. But while the Stars are ahead, is there any way that they could just cancel the preseason? It’s probably for the best.
One thing is for sure: the Dallas Stars will be tested in multiple different ways as they aim for another “fast start” like they had last season. It’s up to them to try and make lemonade out of, well, very few lemons.