Dallas Stars Announce Ales Hemsky to Miss Five to Six Months

The Dallas Stars announced that forward Ales Hemsky will miss five to six months of action after undergoing surgery on Monday to repair a torn labrum. 

On Monday, Stars general manager, Jim Nill said, “Ales underwent surgery this morning to repair a labral tear in his hip. The injury was sustained while he was participating in the World Cup of Hockey. He will be out of the lineup for five to six months as he recovers and rehabilitates.”    

After missing the first four games of the 2016-2017 National Hockey League season, the 33-year-old right winger, returned for about 25 shifts and 15:32 of ice time in the Stars battle with the Columbus Blue Jackets on October 22. He appeared to lose his speed during the game, and went back on to the injured reserve the following day. 

Stars coach, Lindy Ruff added, “He wanted desperately to play, but he was struggling. It was really like what Jamie [Benn] went through last season. You deal with it and you move on.”

 

The Stars have been hit hard with injuries up front this season, Mattias Janmark could miss the entire season due to a knee injury. Cody Eakin might be about two to three weeks away, not having practiced since injuring his knee on the first day of training camp. Patrick Sharp has not skating since suffering a concussion against the Los Angeles Kings on October 20, he did participate in off-ice workouts on Sunday though. 

Benn (undisclosed injury) and Patrick Eaves (lower body) have been playing through the pain, while Jason Spezza just returned on Sunday after missing the previous two games due to a lower body injury. 

The Stars (3-4-1) have lost their last two games adding more frustration to the Hemsky injury. They will take on the Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio on Tuesday night. 

Spezza said, “Every guy that comes in and out causes challenges. [Hemsky] brings a veteran calm and he is good with the puck and he makes the play. That is hard to replace.”

Last season, Hemsky played alongside Antoine Roussel and Radek Faksa. With the long-term injury to him this season, Spezza may be called upon to fill-in on the right side. 

He added, “If I am going to play wing, I have got to learn how to play wing. I must do a better job at getting the puck more. I do not feel like I get the puck as much as when I am center, so I am trying to watch wingers and how to get the puck more.”

 

He continued, “My best stuff is coming from behind the play and trucking through the middle of the ice. So, I have got to figure out how to do that as a winger, and there are a lot of wingers that do that. If I am with Faska, the onus is on us to figure out how to do that.”