Steve Ott won’t be skating with the Dallas Stars any time soon.  The center has been sidelined with an oblique injury that he incurred during the Stars’ shootout loss against the Vancouver Canucks.
Dallas has called Aaron Gagnon up from the AHL but I don’t think Ott will be missed too much for now since, in four games, he just picked up one assist.  Still, the potential is there since he enjoyed a career year in 2008-2009 (despite how bad things were for the team) and reached personal bests with 19 goals, 27 assists and 46 points.

The regular season is over, the playoffs are almost wrapped up and the NHL Awards and NHL Entry Draft are right around the corner.  This part of the year is almost always marked by teams making huge changes and the Dallas Stars have jumped right in. 
NHL.com is reporting that, after six seasons behind Dallas’ bench, head coach, Dave Tippett has been relieved of his duties despite the fact that he has an impressive 271-156-28-37 record.  It had to be expected, however, that major changes would be on their way when Joe Nieuwendyk took over as the team’s general manager.
I …read more

Did you catch the Vancouver at Dallas Stars game last night?  It was a crazy one filled with action, injuries, wild hits and amazing saves.  It truly looked like a playoff game and reminded me of how strongly these teams have battled during the postseason in the past.  It also demonstrated how much Vancouver wants to overcome their setbacks this season and make playoffs.  Vancouver is now 17-4-1 in its past 22 games and has 87 points which ties them with the Chicago Blackhawks for fourth place in the Western Conference.

I saw Daniel Sedin take a high stick to the …read more

In a demonstration of extraordinarily bad luck, Brad Richards broke his other hand during his first game back in the Dallas Stars lineup after a 15 game absence due to a wrist injury. Now, the Stars will be without Richards indefinitely which really dampens their chances of making the playoffs.  Even though he was out of play for so long, he is still the team’s third-leading scorer with 48 points.  How sad is that?

image: Newscom

The shocking injury came during the third period of a 5-2 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Saturday.  “That’s not good news,” Dallas coach Dave …read more

Brendan Morrison will now be wearing a Dallas Stars jersey after the team picked him up after the Anaheim Ducks put him on waivers. 
It’s been a tough year for Morrison who has only 10 goals and 12 assists in 62 appearances.  The 33-year old signed a one-year deal with the Ducks over the summer.
"Brendan Morrison is a skilled veteran who brings valuable experience and character to our team for this playoff push," Stars co-general manager Les Jackson said in a statement. "He is a strong competitor who we are excited to add to our group."
image: tsn

I didn’t see the game but this video shows Anaheim Ducks goaltender, JS Giguere, attacking Steve Ott (Dallas Stars) and then standing back as a fight erupts between Ott and Travis Moen (Anaheim).  The commentators said that all of the Ducks wanted a piece of Ott after he apparently had had run-ins with Giguere and Niedermayer.  Watch the video:

All I know at this point is that Steve Ott has been suspended indefinitely without pay by the NHL since he got a match penalty after the fight.  I have heard rumors that the refs claim to have seen Ott trying to …read more

The Montreal Canadiens have traded forward, Steve Begin, to the Dallas Stars in exchange for defenceman, Doug Janik. 
I guess I can see how this could benefit both teams, particularly the Stars.  They can really benefit from Begin’s energy even though this isn’t his beat season – he’s got 6 goals and 4 assists in 42 games. 
It’s interesting that this is the second west coast/east coast swap in the past day or so.  The trade watch continues…

Brad Richards broke his wrist on Monday night in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets.  The good news is that he will not need surgery to repair the injury.  The bad news is that he’s going to have to wear a cast for about five weeks but then will be out of the lineup for an additional one to three weeks. 

The Dallas Stars have placed Richards, who has 16 goals and 32 assists in 55 games, on the injured reserve. 
image: TSN

The Dallas Stars have made a really wise decision – they’ve chosen to free themselves of Sean Avery.  While reps for both the Stars and Avery say that the team continues to be supportive during “this critical time” for the player, they’ve elected to not put him back in the lineup after his six-game suspension is over. 
I wasn’t surprised to hear co-GM, Brett Hull, weighing in on this.  He’s been vocal about Avery in the past.  Today, Hull said: “Sean needs to focus on his own well-being while the Stars hockey team must focus on playing hockey and competing …read more

Sean Avery has been handed a 6-game suspension (without pay) for making defamatory remarks about Calgary Flames defenseman, Dion Phaneuf, and his girlfriend, Elisha Cuthbert.  The suspension is retroactive so there are just 4 games left in his punishment.
Dallas Stars GM, Brett Hull, had mentioned that maybe Avery could use “medical help” so I wonder if he had anything to do with the request that Avery undergo a professional anger-management evaluation.  If necessary, he may have to begin attending structured counseling sessions to address, what the league feels, is “unacceptable and antisocial” behavior.  Here’s what NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman, had …read more