The Dallas Stars off-season has officially begun. Although it was hard to see the Stars fall in Game 7, this season has been amazing for fans.
The Stars battled through many trials and tribulations but look at where the team finished. People doubted the Stars would even make it to playoffs and they put up an outstanding fight deep into the 2nd round.
Don’t get too down, Stars fans, because there are only sunnier days on the horizon. This team has got the grit to perform at a top level even when their players aren’t at their best physically. After any team is eliminated, the teams talk about players who battled through injury for the sake of their team. The Stars are no different.
The Stars have announced that a few players were battling injuries in the playoffs. The first one being Roope Hintz. Roope played in Game 7 against the Blues with a fractured foot. He was flying on the ice for 23 minutes with a fractured foot! Roope spoke with media and explained:
“It was the Stanley Cup playoffs, so I tried to do everything [so] that I could play. It was weird playing with the shots. I kind of didn’t feel anything there.” (x)
Mattias Janmark also played with a broken foot that he sustained in March. It wasn’t completely healed but he battled through it for the sake of his team. Janmark played in 7 games between both the St. Louis series and Nashville series, with 1 goal and 2 assists. He averaged 11:58 on the ice per game.
Mats Zuccarello was still dealing with his previously broken arm. The tendons had not healed completely so he was having injections every game in order to play. Yet he was a beast on the ice as well. Mats had played in all 13 playoff games, scoring 4 goals and 7 assists. Zuccarello also averaged 17:07 on the ice per game.
Mats Zuccarello had to freeze his arm down every game of the playoffs. Took 3-4 needles for every game. Not ideal, but wanted to play.
“Lose some strength on shooting and the feel of the puck. Some games worse than others. No excuses of course, but always better to be healthy.”
— Owen Newkirk (@OwenNewkirk) May 9, 2019
The Stars have true warriors on their team and that’s only going to improve as time goes on. Roope Hintz still has 2 more years on his current entry-level contract. Mattias Janmark will be an Restricted Free Agent this summer while Mats Zuccarello goes up as an Unrestricted Free Agent. Mats expressed today that he wants is leaning toward staying in Dallas which would be fantastic for the Stars.
Mats Zuccarello: “This is my team now. We’ll see what’s going on. I’m kind of a guy when someone believes in you and wants you, I usually like that. We’ll see.”
— Matthew DeFranks (@MDeFranks) May 9, 2019
All 3 of these players are warriors and gave a lot to help the Stars keep fighting. Although the season is over, the off-season is just beginning and it’s going to be interesting to watch what the Stars moves will be.
Featured Image: Sportsnet.ca
