Dallas Stars Updates: Roster Reductions, Preseason Game 5

There is a lot to keep up with as the Dallas Stars quickly roll towards the beginning of a new season. Find the most recent updates here.

Only nine days remain before the Dallas Stars commence a new journey and fans say goodbye to offseason life for another couple of months.

It’s definitely been a long offseason filled with shock, excitement, sorrow, uncertainty, and a variety of other emotions. If you wanted to condense the entire Dallas Stars 2016 offseason down into one word, it would probably have to be stressful.

There’s a lot that went on and you might have missed one piece of information or a transaction along the way. After an entry draft that proved Dallas was planning smart for the future, the free agency period opened. Some noteworthy losses due to FA status included Alex Goligoski, Jason Demers, Kris Russell, Vernon Fiddler, and Colton Sceviour.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Stars secured veteran defenseman Dan Hamhuis from the UFA market on a two-year deal. Jiri Hudler signed with the team in late August. Valeri Nichushkin signed a contract with a KHL club overseas and returned to Russia.

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To top all of this madness off, the Stars have endured one of the worst injury plagues in franchise history over the past three weeks. Tyler Seguin, Ales Hemsky, Mattias Janmark, and Cody Eakin are just some of the names out with injury right now. Considering the regular season has yet to even begin, tensions are rather high and unstable among Dallas Stars fans.

But whatever the case may be, the regular season starts next Thursday for Dallas and that will not change.

So what is going on as the season draws near? Roster reductions? You bet. Any more preseason games? Of course (three to be exact). Any noteworthy players either making their name known or about to hit the ice for the first time? Yep. Here is a brief rundown of all the Dallas Stars news and updates that you need to know:

Stars Cut Down Training Camp Roster To 40

The Stars made some noteworthy cuts yesterday from their roster, officially trimming what was a 49-man roster down to 40. Here are the names that were moved from the list.

Loaned to the Texas Stars of the AHL: G Philippe Desrosiers, D Ludwig Bystrom, D Nick Ebert, F Brendan Ranford, F Branden Troock

Released from Professional Tryout: F Brandon DeFazio

Released from Amateur Tryout: D Brandon Anselmini, G Landon Bow, F Michael McMurtry

The Stars must have their active roster down to 23 players before their opening night game against the Anaheim Ducks on October 13th.

Dallas Back In Action Tonight Against Florida

The Dallas Stars spent Sunday afternoon battling the Florida Panthers in London, Ontario in their fourth preseason game of the year. The Stars eventually won the game 2-1 thanks to an overtime goal by Nick Ebert.

They will go toe-to-toe with the Panthers again tonight for a second and final time this preseason. Hopefully the Panthers will wear the correct color of jersey this time.

This will be former Star Jason Demers’ first time playing against Dallas since signing with the Panthers as a UFA in the most recent offseason. We’ll see how things go.

Jamie Benn Expected To Play Soon

Though there was no practice on Monday, it is still a safe bet that Stars captain Jamie Benn will be returning any day now. After having offseason surgery on a pulled stomach muscle, Benn is just about ready to hit the ice again and compete.

Stars Inside Edge reported that Stars head coach Lindy Ruff wants to install Benn in the starting lineup in two of the last three games of the preseason. There are only three games remaining, so surely he cannot be far off.

The Stars will host Florida tonight at the American Airlines Center and will welcome the Colorado Avalanche to the AAC on Thursday. They will then fly to Las Vegas and finish the preseason up against the Los Angeles Kings. Benn could show up in any of these three games, so keep your ears peeled (considering the games will not be broadcasted).

Next: What Are The Stars Truly Made Of? We're About To Find Out

As you can tell, there’s a lot to keep up with right now as the Dallas Stars lock in for another exciting season. Keep checking in to Blackout Dallas for more preseason coverage as we nervously await the 2016-17 regular season campaign.