Dallas Stars News: Heatherington, Dickinson Reassigned To Texas Stars

The Dallas Stars spent the first day of their break making roster moves. They sent both defenseman Dillon Heatherington and center Jason Dickinson back to the Texas Stars in the AHL. What does that mean for the team going forward?

The best thing to do during a long break is to take a step back and reassess everything before diving back in. That’s exactly what the Dallas Stars are doing right now.

After dropping a humiliating 6-0 loss to the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday afternoon, the Stars entered a four-day break. Accompanying them was plenty of uncertainty and lingering doubt. Even after winning five of their past six games, everything still seemed unsure.

How would their four days off pan out? Would their standing in the playoff race be affected? Could that one loss after a long stretch of success end up dooming the Stars? Would they be able to get over it and come out of the break swinging in a crucial game against the St. Louis Blues on Friday night?

The questions and uncertainties multiplied as Sunday disappeared and ushered in a new week.

Dallas Stars

But if a break is good for anything, it’s the fact that it gives a team the opportunity to clear its head. After a rugged and time-consuming battle in the trenches over the past few months, the Stars now have another chance to step back and reassess everything. They can double check their game plan, reenergize, and spend their off time preparing for their next game.

Oh, and they can also clear up and reshape their roster if the situation calls for it. That’s just what Dallas did this morning.

The Dallas Stars took Monday off and did not practice, but the front office remained in working order.

The Stars announced earlier that defenseman Dillon Heatherington and center Jason Dickinson had both been reassigned to the Texas Stars of the AHL. Both have been used a decent amount by Dallas this season and are developing into regular NHL players.

Heatherington made his NHL debut with the Stars back on January 18 and has played five games for Dallas this season. He was acquired by the Stars from the Columbus Blue Jackets in a trade at last year’s deadline. The sturdy, physical defenseman tallied one assist and an impressive +3 rating in his time with Dallas.

Dickinson, on the other hand, has been up and down between Dallas and Texas all season. He’s played in 13 games with the Dallas Stars this season, tallying no points and a -1 rating.

Both players have seen extensive success in the AHL this year, so it will be interesting to see how they do in their return.

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Why did Dallas reassign them? Was there any specific reason? They both seemed to be filling the lineup nicely and doing their jobs.

So why now?

Well, in Heatherington’s case, it’s likely that he is being chased out by a more experienced defender. Marc Methot, who is playing his first season with Dallas this year, has missed a significant chunk of the 2017-18 season (41 of the Stars’ 57 games). He’s been sidelined with a knee injury that won’t seem to go away.

After being sidelined from Nov. 6 to Jan. 4 and having arthroscopic knee surgery, Methot stepped back into the lineup for one game. He helped defeat the New Jersey Devils by a score of 4-3, but ended up back on the injured reserve list a few days later.

Over the past few weeks, it’s been made clear that he is nearing a return to the lineup. Four extra days could be just what Methot needs, which means he could potentially return on Friday night. That’s the speculation at the moment.

With that being said, Heatherington would have served as the eighth defenseman on the roster and gotten little to no playing time. But when your defense is top-six in the NHL in goals against, do you really want to constantly juggle the lineup? Probably not. After all, if it ain’t broke, well, you know the rest.

Heatherington is still showing promising signs of being a consistent NHL defender as early as next year. If he can keep boosting his performance in the AHL, he should have no problem earning a spot on the Big D blue line in the near future. But for now, the Dallas Stars likely want to work with the established talent they have.

And in Dickinson’s case, it’s probably just a move to avoid overstocking. Now that Hanzal is back in the lineup on a consistent basis (or so they hope), Dickinson’s presence would give the Stars 14 forwards to sift through.

That’s a lot of line juggling and potential for gelling issues due to inconsistency. The Stars would be better off sticking with 13 forwards and giving them less pressure to deal with.

Or it could simply be a move made to give Dickinson extra playing time during the break. As we’ve seen this season, injuries are uncertain yet consistent, especially for a few Stars forwards. There’s a good chance that Dickinson will be needed at least one more time before the season ends.

Next: Stars' Upcoming Schedule Is Preparing Them For Playoffs

But as of right now, the Dallas Stars are cleaning up their roster as they shift their focus to Friday. Let’s see if these moves pay off in the long run as the playoff race heats up.