FRISCO, Texas — Tyler Seguin has been cleared by his surgeon for contact, Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill said Wednesday. Nill added that Dallas expects Seguin to be 100% again after ACL surgery. Training camp opens Thursday at Comerica Center.
Seguin’s next step is contact in camp. How he feels afterward will guide the decision.
“He’s been cleared by a surgeon for contact now, so he’ll get into more of the contact, see how he feels,” Nill said. “It’s really up to him, see how he adapts to that. It’s one thing when you’re in the summer and you’re skating with other players, you’re playing pickup hockey, but it gets a little bit more serious now in these games. So we’ll see where it goes.”
Jim Nill On Tyler Seguin’s ACL Recovery
Seguin has been through long recoveries before, and Nill said Seguin knows how to handle one.
“The good thing about Tyler, he’s been through this before, which is good and bad, I guess. He knows how to deal with it,” Nill explained. “But he’s a very well-conditioned athlete. He’s always worked hard. He’s been through these situations before, so the time frame has worked out well for him. He’s had the extra time now to heal, but he knows what it takes, and he’s very committed to it.”
“So our expectations are he’s going to be OK, but I want to see when he gets into the contact and see where he’s at,” Nill continued. “But we’re expecting him to bounce back and be 100% again.”
Later Wednesday, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said Seguin rehabs so hard and will be ready.
Tyler Seguin Enters Final Season Of Dallas Stars Contract
Seguin was hurt on Dec. 2 and had surgery that month. Before the injury, he had 7 goals, 10 assists, and 17 points in 27 games. He missed the six-game, first-round loss to the Minnesota Wild.
At the Dallas Stars Foundation’s Drive Fore the Kids golf tournament in Carrollton on Sept. 8, Seguin declined to say whether he will be available for the Oct. 2 opener. He said a setback in the middle of June forced him to stop skating, Robert Tiffin of NHL.com reported.
This is the final season of Seguin’s eight-year, $78.8 million contract, which carries a $9.85 million cap hit. He turned 34 in January.
Under the new collective bargaining agreement, veterans can play only two of Dallas’ four preseason games. The preseason opens Saturday, Sept. 19, at the St. Louis Blues at 6 p.m. CT, and the regular season opens against St. Louis on Oct. 2 at American Airlines Center at 8 p.m. CT on TNT.
