Neal, Fistric reassigned; Conner, too

James Neal and Mark Fistric were assigned to the Manitoba Moose on Sunday, while Chris Conner will head to Peoria.

Now in talking to Les Jackson about this, the Stars obviously get some cap room back. But he said it had more to do with getting the young guys some work in the minors and letting the veterans know that "they have to get to the table and start pulling together." James Neal has shown quite a bit, and Jackson said he'll definitely get quite a few games with the Stars this season. Still hate to see the kid go down, though, considering the chemistry he's had with Mike Modano and B.J. Crombeen.

Fistric, meanwhile, has had a rough go of it since training camp. Dave Tippett voiced his disappointment with him then, and he's struggled in the early season (OK, who hasn't). Still, with Sergei Zubov returning and Doug Janik here, the Stars will have their 7 D-men. And they probably would like to see Janik once his eye is better.

I'll have more from the GMs in another post.

Comments

[Tim]

I think those are the right moves. Fistric looks like hes lost some confidence and is trying to play a style that doesnt suit him. Neal the last several games has looked less and less effective, maybe a bit overwhelmed at times. Going back to the AHL should help these two.

[fistricfan]

Have to agree with you Tim as much as i hate to see Mark go down. i watched some old dvr's from last year and he doesn't have the same amount of grit he had last year. probably trying too hard not to mess up with Tippet up his rear...he certainly hasn't been the worst on the blueline though. a lot of times he is the last guy back holding the fort while his partner is in la la land.

[Meges]

Can anyone say scapegoat?

I'm not going to call anyone in particular out (unlike both Tippett and Turco) but there have been worse defensemen out there than Fistric.

Of course he has lost confidence when first your coach and then the goalie is calling you out and no one else!

And the GM's - they're part of who got them in this mess in the first place, being hard up on the cap AND dumping the Finns.

[hip czech]

Neal was one our best players. The line he played on was also one our best.

JackHull never got called out (understandably) by the Stars, but "it" should have.

THERE'S your trouble.