With the NHL lockout looking like it's on for the long haul, the hockey focus will be on the Stars prospects and overseas players. This is the schedule for those players this week and a few updates on how those players performed in the previous week.

Texas Stars

 The Stars finished their preseason last week with a 3-0-0 record and outscored their opponents 14-3. Their regular season finally gets underway on Oct. 13 against the San Antonio Rampage.

Oct. 13 - Texas Stars @ San Antonio Rampage

Oct. 14 - Charlotte Checkers @ Texas Stars

Hamburg Freezers

Jamie Benn played his first two overseas games last week with the Freezers. His debut game was pretty quiet as he had just three shots without any points. His latest game went much better (though his team lost) as he had a goal and an assist on nine shots. The goal that he had was pretty much on an open net. He also had a shootout goal (using his usual sweeping move from the right-hand boards) as the game went into a shootout.

The Freezers have two games this upcoming week, both on the road.

Oct. 12 - Hamburg Freezers @ Iserlohn Roosters

Oct. 14 - Hamburg Freezers @ Straubing Tigers

HC Kladno

Jaromir Jagr had himself a pretty quiet week as he went pointless in two games with Kladno. His team has two games this week.

Oct. 11 - Kladno @ Plzeň

Oct. 14 - Litvínov @ Kladno

Jamie Benn became the third Dallas Stars player to make the temporary move over to Europe (you're gonna need a translation for all the German) today as he signed with the Hamburg Freezers (yeah, you heard that right). The Freezers are part of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, the top league in Germany. The Freezers are one of the middle tier teams in the DEL and are currently 3-3-0 in their season so far.

Benn is still a free agent as he never did get around to signing a deal with the Stars before the lockout hit, but that should all be over and done with once the lockout ends. Benn will join Philip Larsen and Jaromir Jagr as Stars players to play some lockout hockey over in Europe.

Benn will need to take a hilarious photo and change his middle name to Freezer (Colin Freezer Murphy?) as it seems like the Freezers have a bunch of funny little bits they need to do.

A few news points to catch up on from this past week.

First off, the rest of the NHL preseason was officially cancelled. The last preseason game was to be played on Oct. 8, three days before the start of the regular season. With just two weeks left until the start of the regular season, it's a foregone conclusion that a hefty number of games this year are going to be cancelled. Negotiations (pseudo-negotiations?) are still ongoing between the NHL and NHLPA but an agreement is far from done.

Amidst the lockout, players have been traveling to Europe to play hockey and the Stars finally had someone besides Jaromir Jagr go overseas. Philip Larsen, surprisingly, decided to sign with a Finnish team, Rauman Lukko. It's an unexpected signing, especially considering that Rauman Lukko signed two other Danish players, but it's good for Dallas to get some more guys overseas to play some hockey. Loui Eriksson should be the next guy to go over.

First off, the stunner of the day comes from Mike Heika.

"Derek Roy had shoulder surgery today. Out until November. More to come."

Even better is that it looks like that'll be late November till he's ready to play again. He'll probably still be able to condition and skate, but he loses valuable time in camp getting used to his linemates and learning the system in Dallas. He probably won't truly get into the swing of things with the team until January.

The injury also brings up a multitude of questions. When did it happen? Was the trade made with this injury known to the Stars? Roy himself said he was 100% healthy when the trade happened so who knows when this injury popped up. There's a lots of answers that need found out before we lambast the team and GM Joe, but his doesn't look good right now.

For all intensive purposes, it looks like Tom Wandell will get chance number 20 to make an impression on the team as he'll most likely center Ray Whitney and Michael Ryder. Jamie Benn gets the pressure moneky put back on his hefty shoulders as he's the only playmaking center left.

The most interesting part of the this is what Dallas does with Radek Faksa. He's been signed to a three-year entry level contract and has looked great in camp thus far. He could get late line minutes for the start of the season, but the Stars are hoping he becomes the team's number one center in the future. Dallas could always thrust him into the fire in that second line role for the first months of the season as he does have solid wingers around him, but who knows.

There's a lot more that needs to be learned about this Roy injury before any conclusions can be made, but there's no question that this throws a giant monkey wrench into the team's plans.

Also in the news today was that the Stars signed Troy Vance and Brett Ritchie to entry level contracts. Vance is a gigantic defender and a really interesting prospect while Ritchie is a bruising power forward type that has looked great at development camp this offseason. Ritichie has the better chance of making the team, but it won't be for another year or two.

While the Dallas Stars have been really busy so far during this free agency, what's the rest of the Pacific Division been up too? Well, in short, all the other teams in the division have been pretty quiet but there have been a few interesting moves and there will be some significant ones to come. So let's see what those rivals have been up to.

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks have been busy this offseason adding to thier blue line. They reached a little bit and drafted Hampus Lindholm with the sixth overall pick in the draft, which I don't have a problem with if they really like him. There were other defensemen more talented than Lindholm but it's obvious that the Ducks were set on him.

They also sent away noted Stars killer Lubomir Vishnovsky to the New York Islanders for a second-round pick during the draft.

When free agency hit, they went out and got themselves another couple of big defensemen. They signed Sheldon Souray away from the Dallas Stars with a three-year, $11 million deal and they also signed shot blocker and all-around effort defensemen Bryan Allen to a three-year $10.5 million deal.

It's a big boost to their pretty shoddy d-core but it's nothing earth shattering. Souray had his problems on the ice with penalties and struggled offensively for long stretches during the season. Allen adds very little on the offensive side of the ice.

The Ducks also signed Brad Staubitz to two-year deal (for an unconfirmed amount). He's nothing more than a depth line tough guy. Anaheim wanted to add some beef and toughness to the team and they got it.

Now there should still be a couple of big moves coming from the Ducks. First off, Teemu Selanne is still a UFA and wants to play another year. He should be back next year with the Ducks.

The other big move involves Bobby Ryan. The 25-year-old is a huge trade piece out in the market right now but is being overshadowed by Rick Nash. Ryan would not be as expensive to trade for and he's just as good as Nash. Teams with some serious interest in Ryan so far have been the Philadelphia Flyers, Buffalo Sabres and the Toronto Maple Leafs. I still find it surprising that the Ducks are willing to trade him, but he's out there to be had.

As of July 5, the Ducks still need a little over $7 million to reach the cap floor, so there will be more moves from this team.

Additions: Allen, Souray, Staubitz, Lindholm (draft), Nicolas Kerdiles - C (draft)

Subtractions: Sheldon Brookbank - D (to Chicago), George Parros - RW (to Florida), Riley Holzapfel - C (to Pittsburgh), Jean-Francois Jacques - LW (to Florida), Vishnovsky (trade to NYI)

Re-signed: No one as of yet

Still Unresolved: Selanne (UFA), Rod Pelley - C (UFA), Ryan O'Marra - C (UFA), Niklas Hagman - LW (UFA), Jason Blake - LW (UFA), Kyle Cumiskey - D (RFA), Iiro Tarkki - G (UFA),  Dan Ellis - G (UFA), 

1) What are the strengths and weakness in Roy? Is he more suited as a number 1 or 2 center?

Roy is a #2 center. Period. Don't let anyone else tell you other wise. Roy is a gifted playmaker. He can See the ice well and can rack up impressive point totals. Problem is he tended to tune out the coach and tries too hard to do everything himself. He can be a lazy turnover machine and he's not going to win battles along the corners. He's a good transition player on the offensive end of the ice. He also happens to be a whiner and a diver on the ice. Overall, I think he just had to get out of Buffalo. Lindy Ruff and he hated each other for years now. Ruff wants guys to play well in their own zone and is kind of a dick to his players, and that just doesn't jive well with Roy. Let him be an offensive #2 center and I think he'll get you 70 points.

2) Dallas lost their two best face-off guys this offseason. How good was Roy in that part of the game? Was he counted on in late game situations?

Eh. I'd say average in that department. NHL.com has him at about 50%. A lot of times we'd have Gaustad (Before he got dealt) taking draws in crunch time.

3) Roy struggled last season after returning from a pretty serious injury. Was there a notable difference in his game or was last year just a struggle for the team as a whole?

Roy has always been an enigma in my book. He makes plays that you'll say "That's our guy!" and then the next minute, you wanna kill him and trade him for hockey pucks. Did his injury have an effect on him? Probably, but fans didn't care because they had grown so tired of him. He's been here since 2004 and just has a knack for being inconsistent. Last year, the whole team struggled offensively, and he got a lot of blame mainly because fans can't stand him. Again, I think he can get you 60-70 points, but just don't rely on him to be your 2nd or 3rd best player. He also wasn't exactly a clutch playoff performer, scoring 7 goals in 41 playoff games.

4) Is Roy a good two-way player? Dallas has been trying to really target those types of guys this offseason.

Eh. Not really. He can kill penalties, but I wouldn't exactly want him back there. He's an offensive guy. That's what should be his forte. Lindy tried making him into a 2-way guy and that's not his game.

5) He only had one year on his contract. Was that a mutual decision between him and the team or did he not want to come back? Should Stars fans worry that he's a one-year guy that won't re-sign (which I'm not sure why we traded for him if he won't)?

Roy has been on the block as long as hookers in Las Vegas have been. Every year we've tried dealing him. Problem was that Darcy Regier (GM) overvalues his own guys. He wants to rip you off. Like I said, he didn't get along with his coach. He also opened up his mouth at the end of the year in regards to Ruff's treatment of players and I'm sure that didn't do him any favors. I will say this, if anyone would want to put up numbers because it is his contract year, I'd put Roy up. He just seems to be a guy who likes his toys. Google NHL Cribs and Derek Roy.

6) Will he be a leader on the team? Is he a vocal guy and how did Sabres fans view him?

No. Roy isn't a leader. He's not a rah-rah guy, but again, maybe he will change in a new city. Sabres fans hated him for the most part. There were also rumors about his party habits that didn't sit well with some folks. He was a punching bag for most fans and his coach. However, we are a very bitter fan base.

The Stars signed Ray Whitney to a two year $9 million contract with a partial NMC today. It's a move that I personally love. He may be 40-years-old but he's still one of the most consistent scorers in the game (seven straight seasons of 55+ points, the last two with a offensively challenged Phoenix Coyotes team) and provides that great scoring depth to the Stars.

He's a big boost to the power-play, still plays big minutes and provides a mentor to a team that is chock full of young wingers. He's gotta be an invaluable source of information for Reilly Smith this season. There's grumbles from fans about his contract but how much does it really hurt the Stars? Dallas has more than enough cap space to accomodate his contract and it's only for two seasons. The team isn't going to spend all $30 million available in cap space in that span will they? 

He'll be fine on whichever line he plays on, whether he's being centered by Benn or by Cody Eakin.

He's a stop-gap until all the youngsters are ready to go and really, I look forward to cheering for Whitney when the season starts.

Well, that was a fun filled first round yesterday wasn't it? There were some crazy moves and a wild run on defensemen that led to some massive drops that worked out perfectly for the Stars. They started out the draft by making a big trade, sending away Mike Ribeiro to the Washington Capitals for their second round pick (#54) and 21-year-old center Cody Eakin. It’s a great move for the Stars as they get rid of an aging Ribeiro, who only has one year left on his contract worth $5 million. He struggled in his role as the number one center for Dallas. He couldn’t win face-offs, played poorly on defense and struggled against opposing top lines. It’s not as big of a loss as Stars fans would think. He had no future for the team and the Stars got a nice prospect in return.

Eakin was one of the Capitals top prospects. He’s a really fast player (really really fast) with a solid two-way game. He’s more talented on the offensive side of the ice and looks like he’ll be a solid second-line center at best. Dallas might hope he makes the team this upcoming season but he might need a year of seasoning before coming to the NHL. He’ll be a second or third line center by then for the Stars.

The run on defensemen in the first ten picks dropped some great offensive talents to the Stars and they ended up with Radek Faksa, one of the best centers available in this draft. It really couldn’t have worked out better for Dallas because they had three centers to choose from and they just took the best available. Faksa has a future on this team as either the number one or number two center, depending on what the organization does with Jamie Benn. Stars fans should be ecstatic with the pick.

The draft is coming up soon so here's another mock to look at, with a particular emphasis on what the Stars could be looking at by the time pick number 13 rolls around.

1) Edmonton Oilers

Nail Yakupov – RW, Sarnia Sting (OHL)

Age: 18

Ht/Wt: 5’11”/~190 lbs

Edmonton desperately needs defense but Yakupov is far and away the best player in this draft. As much as Edmonton would like to take Ryan Murray, it would just be too large of a loss in value. It would be a shock if this doesn’t happen. The Oilers young explosive offense gets even more dangerous (and fun to watch) and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins should be doing backflips (but carefully).

If they want to shake things up, they can trade down two or three spots for defensive help and then pick either Murray if he’s still there or the best offensive player still available.

2) Columbus Blue Jackets

Filip Forsberg – Winger, Leksands (Sweden)

Age: 17

Ht/Wt: 6’1”/~190 lbs

I feel like this pick hinges on how ready Columbus is to move Rick Nash. The game’s hottest trade commodity for the past three seasons is still up for grabs if any team is willing to pony up. If Columbus really truly believes they can keep Nash on the team and happy, Ryan Murray is the pick. That doesn’t look like the case though as it looks increasingly likely that he’s moved this summer so offense is the choice.

They have a few players to choose from and I have Forsberg going here. Alex Galchenyuk and Mikhail Grigorenko are slightly better prospects, but they have more question marks on them. Forsberg is relatively safe, the best European skater in this year’s draft and his skills are nearly as good.

3) Montreal Canadiens

Alex Galchenyuk – Center, Sarnia Sting (OHL)

Age: 18

Ht/Wt: 6’1”/~185 lbs

There are some big question marks on Galchenyuk as he’s returning from a torn ACL this past season and played only two games. A healthy season might have seen him battling his teammate Yakupov for that top pick though and he could be the best center in this draft (it’s either him or Grigorenko). He should be ready by the time the season starts and he’s young so that explosive skating should still be there. The Habs need offense and a center badly.

4) New York Islanders

Ryan Murray – Defenseman, Everett Silvertips (WHL)

Age: 18

Ht/Wt: 6’0”/~190 lbs

The best defenseman in the draft should be nice grab here for the Islanders. The goaltender situation is a rotating wheel of disaster and the defense does them no favors. They have a nice offensive core set in NYI so picking Murray here starts to build their blue liners. He should be their day one top pair starter.

5) Toronto Maple Leafs

Mikhail Grigorenko – Center, Quebec Remparts (QMJHL)

Age: 18

Ht/Wt: 6’2”/~200 lbs

Grigorenko would be a steal for the Leafs here. There are questions all over the place about the young Russian, but his skill is evident. If he had a good playoff run, he would’ve been talked about as a possible number one pick but his effort has been severely questioned. Grigorenko becomes the Leafs best center and should make an immediate impact.

It would be hilarious though if they made this pick and Grigorenko decided to go play in Russia.

Stephane Robidas

It was another tough year for Stephane Robidas this season. The veteran Stars defenseman fought through his usual myriad of injuries and crushing hits to prove once again that he's the toughest S.O.B on this team. Unfortunately, his age really showed this season and it's glaringly apparent that he's just not cut out for a role as a first pair defensemen for this team anymore.

Robidas was getting beaten or lost more often this season than any other that I can remember. He was just out of place for so many opposing scoring chances and would just flat out lose his man in coverage so often. He's just too slow now to keep up with the faster players in the league and he became a turnstile out there. A first pairing of Robidas and Trevor Daley or Sheldon Souray may have been the best this team could offer as the best pair of defensemen, but that only led to fans wanting a lot more. His poor defensive play was only compounded by some of his worst offensive numbers in his career.

I'm not sure what happened this season, but Robidas just didn't have it offensively this season. He had 17 assists (worst since '07-'08), 22 points (worst since '06-'07) and managed only 75 shots on goal (worst since '02-'03). It's the first time in the past five years that he didn't reach at least 100 shots on goal and the lowest total since his first season as a Dallas Star (the '02-'03 year). He just wasn't looking dangerous enough out there and wasn't creating the chances that he might have done in years past.

This is probably more the coaches fault than his, but for some inconceivable reason Robidas was on the first power play unit and working as one of the pointmen (which makes it all the more baffling how he didn't get more shots on net). He was a huge contributor (or non-contributor) to a historically bad power-play and he only registered nine points on the man-advantage despite working on the first unit. It's something that absolutely cannot happen next season.

His best month came probably in February. He was engaged in the offense (he had 24 shots, his most of any month) and managed five points, which is still low but it was his second highest total of the year. Aside from his offensive struggles, Robidas did have some of his usual good points. He willingly threw his body out there night-in and night-out to try and help out the team. He was third on the team in hits (second among defensemen) with 191 and he was second on the team in blocked shots, just five behind Daley's team leading 115. He played the second-most minutes out of anyone on the team, again just behind Daley and he led the team in shorthanded time on ice. He was a major part of a penalty kill that was great for most of the season.

Robidas just didn't have the year he wanted though and it's not going to be getting any better. He's signed onto this team for two more seasons at $3.3 million per year and will be 38 by the time his contract is over. Despite his decline, he still might be a first pair defenseman for this team next year, but I feel like the Stars should just cut their losses and let him go. He's not going to be a part of the future of this team and he's taking up a good chunk of salary cap room that can be used elsewhere. For this year though, Robidas gets a C from me that's really close to a C-. The Stars have to have better than him next season.