Steel missed the second half of training camp with a lower-body injury but was on the ice for Wednesday’s practice and head coach Dallas Eakins said Steel is “ready to rip.” Steel is expected to centre the second line with Rickard Rakell and Jakob Silfverberg on his wings, which is a great opportunity for him to build off of the 11 points (6G / 5A) he had in 22 games last season.
Rantanen missed training camp because of a contract holdout but was back on the ice with the Avalanche on Monday. After his first practice session, head coach Jared Bednar said that his star right-winger will play Thursday. Rantanen is scheduled to skate on the top-line with Nathan Mackinnon and Gabriel Landeskog and should have no issues topping 80 points for the third consecutive season.
Rantanen and the Avalanche came down to the wire but finally came to terms on a six-year deal. The soon-to-be 23-year old has posted back-to-back 80-plus point seasons, including 31 goals and 56 assists last year. He is expected to re-join the Avalanche and should be available for their season opener on Thursday.
Petrovic appeared in 35 NHL games last season, 26 with Florida and nine with Edmonton, posting just two assists total. Petrovic is big blueliner (6-foot-4, 216 lbs.) that plays a physical brand of hockey in his own end, ranking 11th in the NHL in hits per game (3.3) last year.
The Stars selected Barteaux in the sixth-round (No.168 overall) in the 2018 draft. The 19-year-old defenseman had 34 points (7G / 27A) in 67 games with the Red Deer Rebels (WHL) last year and is in Red Deer again this season, for what will be his fourth WHL campaign.
Harley was the No.18 pick in this summer’s NHL Entry Draft. Harley is still in Stars’ training camp but it seems likely that he will be heading back to the Mississauga Steelheads of the OHL. The 6-foot-3, 188 lbs. defenseman had 11 goals and 47 assists (58 points) in 68 games with Mississauga last season.
Lyubushkin had four assists in 41 games with the Coyotes this season. The 25-year-old defenseman came to the NHL after spending six years in the KHL. Lyubushkin will likely serve as the Coyotes No.6/No.7 defenseman in 2019-20.
Lindell, 24, has become a fantastic shutdown defenseman for Dallas after being selected in the third-round in 2012. Lindell has some offensive flair to his game as well, scoring 11 goals and 21 assists (32 points) in 82 games during the regular season. The Finnish defenseman had a great postseason, leading all Stars’ players in ice-time (26:58 TOI/gm) with four points (1G / 3A) and 34 blocked shots in 13 games. Lindell, John Klingberg and Miro Heiskanen will be among the NHL’s best top-3 defensemen for the Stars for many years to come.
Hintz missed the morning skate before Game 7 because of a foot injury he suffered while blocking a shot late in Game 6. The Stars announced that he played through a broken foot in Game 7 but is expected to be ready for training camp for the 2019-20 season.
Hintz missed the morning skate but head coach Jim Montgomery said that Hintz will be available for Game 7 in St. Louis. Hintz will centre the second line with Jamie Benn and Alexander Radulov on his wings and comes in with three goals and two assists in six games in the series.
Pavelski, who has been out since Game 7 vs. the Golden Knights, joined his teammates for Monday’s gameday skate but will not be in the lineup for Game 6. Pavelski appears close to returning to the Sharks lineup and will almost certainly be back for Round 3 if the Sharks are able to advance tonight.
Pavelski remains sidelined after suffering a scary injury in Game 7 vs. the Golden Knights and the fact that he did not travel to Colorado suggests that Pavelski will also miss Game 4.
Pavelski, who was hurt in Game 7 vs. the Golden Knights, is expected to miss Game 1 vs. the Avalanche with what is believed to be a concussion. When asked if Pavelski had a concussion, head coach Pete DeBoer said: “I’m not going to get into specifics. I just told you he’s feeling the effects of it. You guys can put two and two together, I think.” Gustav Nyquist is expected to move up to the top line and Timo Meier is expected to be on the top power-play while Pavelski is out.
Rantanen missed the final seven games of the regular season but is ready to play in Game 1 in Calgary. Rantanen had four assists in six playoff games a year ago and had three points (1G / 2A) in three games vs. the Flames this year.
Benn will get the night off to make sure that he is 100 percent heading into the postseason. Justin Dowling will move into the Stars top-6 with Benn sitting out.
