#GoStars Media Availability with General Manager Jim Nill:

• Tyler Seguin had knee issues late in the regular season & into the restart, then he suffered a torn labrum in his hip, which he played through. He will have hip surgery soon, with an expected 4-month recovery.

• Ben Bishop underwent knee surgery ("scoped") in late May. He tried to come back and play for the playoffs, but he didn't feel comfortable, so the Stars shut him down. Nill said he probably didn't have enough time to heal after surgery.

• Blake Comeau suffered a separated shoulder in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final; would not have been able to play in a Game 7.

• Radek Faksa suffered a broken wrist in Game 3 of the Conference Final vs. Vegas; would not have played in a Game 7 vs. Tampa.

• Stephen Johns did not feel comfortable playing anymore after playing in Game 1 vs. Calgary. There was not a specific hit that caused this feeling. His status for the 2020-21 season is unknown at this time.

• Esa Lindell hurt his hand early in the playoffs; played through it.

• Taylor Fedun suffered a knee injury in Game 6 vs. Colorado. He was available to play if the Cup Final went to a Game 7.

• John Klingberg suffered a knee injury which caused him to miss the Round Robin game vs. Colorado. He was able to battle through the playoffs with that.

• Anton Khudobin underwent surgery yesterday (Wednesday) to deal with a nerve issue that was causing some numbness in his arm and trouble holding his stick. Surgery was successful and everything should be fine moving forward.

• Jason Dickinson had foot & ankle injuries - was getting shot up to play every night.

• Miro Heiskanen suffered a hip injury in the Conference Final vs. Vegas. Fought through it and got better during the Cup Final.

• Roope Hintz was playing with a fractured ankle and getting shot up to play. Then he suffered a hip injury crashing into the boards in Game 4 of the Final. He might have been available to play in a Game 7 vs. Tampa.

• Captain Jamie Benn suffered a shoulder injury late in the regular season (before the pause), he was able to battle through it in the playoffs (and play very well, I might add). He should have time to heal up now and be fine for next season.

• Nill said he is planning to meet with Rick Bowness next week, but the his expectation is for Bones to be the team's head coach moving forward.

• Nill also said that all the rest of the coaching staff is under contract for next season.

• Nill said he began discussions on a contract extension with Anton Khudobin's representatives in December. He said Khudobin wants to test the free agent market, to see what's out there, which he's earned. Nill said they want Dobby back, but understands the situation of TBD.

• Nill went on to say that Jake Oettinger is knocking on the door and is definitely an option to back up Ben Bishop if they don't re-sign Khudobin. He also said the goalie market is flooded right now, so they know there will be other options available too.

•Only 2 of the 13 injured players mentioned could potentially not be available for the start of the 2020-21 season (assuming a Jan. 1 target date). Nill said Ben Bishop should be ready, but Tyler Seguin will most likely not be ready and Stephen Johns is unknown at this time.

• Nill said a priority at the moment is to re-sign RFA Radek Faksa, then get RFAs Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov signed. He needs to know what those 3 contracts look like (to determine cap space) before they do anything else.

• Corey Perry & Mattias Janmark will both hit the market tomorrow for the start of free agency, but Nill was measured with his words "we'll see what happens with them." As mentioned above with the RFAs, he didn't rule out bringing Perry or Janmark back...

...However, Nill also mentioned they have lots of young skaters knocking on the door, like Robertson, Dellandrea, L'Esperance, Caamano, Gardner, etc. Later he mentioned the team will have "more young guys on the roster who don't require waivers", giving them some cap flexibility.

• Nill said there are no buyouts planned and that he is allowed to spend to the salary cap ceiling. He said that team ownership just wants them to be responsible with their financial decisions.

• RFA Landon Bow was not qualified in part to keep their options open and not tie up too many contracts, especially with uncertainty about when the AHL will resume play. Nill said Bow was great for the team in the bubble.

• There is a chance that some of the Stars prospects might be temporarily moved to teams in Europe that are currently playing, but Nill insisted that many clubs want a full year commitment and the Stars don't want to be locked into that - especially when AHL play does resume.