The Stars had a big cutdown day Friday.
They have not officially announced it yet, but they ran a practice with 21 players on the ice and Brenden Morrow (soreness in his legs) and Jere Lehtinen (groin/hip) sitting out.
The NHL roster maximum is 23 players, so these very well could be the bodies who are on the roster on opening night Oct. 3.
Jamie Benn and Tom Wandell are still around and could start the season as rookies on the roster. Defenseman Andrew Hutchinson has been placed on waivers. If he clears, he will be assigned to the Texas Stars (AHL). That's probably the right thing for the club, because they like Jeff Woywitka as the No. 7 defenseman and there's no real reason to keep eight defensemen around (six usually dress for a game). Yes, Hutchinson is on a one-way contract making $600,000 no matter what, so it would hurt to pay him that at the AHL level, but wouldn't you rather he be playing and helping the Texas Stars (because he is a very good AHL defenseman) rather than being a healthy scratch in the NHL?
As for Wandell and Benn, they aren't home safe yet. The Stars could carry only 21 or 22 players because Austin is so close. But the bottom line is they are here now and they are both happy about it. It appears the Stars will run out this lineup for Saturday's game against St. Louis at AAC:
Neal-Richards-Eriksson
Ott-Ribeiro-Barch
Sutherby-Modano-Benn
Petersen-Wandell-Brunnstrom
Grossman-Robidas
Skrastins-Daley
Fistric-Niskanen
Turco
Auld
Turco is expected to play the whole game in goal.
Remember, this is the team's only radio broadcast. The game will be on The Ticket 1310AM and the new pre-game show featuring will start at 6:30 p.m.
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