The Dallas Stars announced on Monday that center Matt Duchene and left wing Adam Erne have been placed on the long-term injured reserve list.
Both of these moves come retroactive to the players already missing time due to injuries earlier in the season, with Duchene’s designation coming retroactive to his October 18 injury and Ernen’s designation coming after his November 11 injury, according to The Dallas Stars.
Duchene has only appeared in four games for the Stars to open the regular season, contributing one goal and one assist in those matchups in which Dallas finished with a record of 2-1-1.
Meanwhile, Erne had appeared in 14 games for the Stars this season, recording two goals and one assist.
Although these moves could indicate long stints without the players, the more likely scenario is that Dallas opted to make them to activate captain Jamie Benn.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, Benn has missed every game this season after suffering a collapsed lung during the preseason, which led the team to place him on long-term injured reserve before the regular season began.
However, Dallas is now expected to activate Benn before the team’s matchup against the New York Islanders at American Airlines Center on Tuesday night, according to The Dallas Morning News.
Despite beginning the season on injured reserve, Benn has been skating with the team for the past few weeks and traveled during its most recent Canadian road trip.
Placing Duchene and Erne on the long-term injured reserve opens up the necessary cap space for the team to activate Benn, with the expectation that the 36-year-old will make his season debut against New York.
Dallas will also have the option to activate Duchene at any time, as he has already served the minimum required time on the list and could rejoin the team at any time moving forward.
The Stars will now look to continue a recent hot streak with the activation of Benn, as the team has won five consecutive games and seven of its last 10 matchups.