Stars News & Notes
/Andrew's Dallas Stars Page
Stars forward Jere Lehtinen told a Finnish magazine that he wants to play for the Dallas Stars next season and for Finland at the 2010 Olympics, but before he can do that he needs to get better on the injury front.
Lehtinen, who missed 34 games this season due to injuries, said he had a variety of issues during the season. Among them were an abdomen injury and a neck/nerve injury, which at times caused him to lose some of the feeling in his arm and hand.
“It was quite frightening,” Lehtinen told the Finnish magazine Veikkaaja. “It is extremely hard to be hurt again after the long rehabilitating. It seems that it is always more difficult to do the return.”
Lehtinen, who decided not play for Finland at the World Championship in Switzerland because of injuries, said there needs to be improvement with the neck/nerve issue before he can think about hockey next season.
"Doctors have said that nerve injuries improve with time, but the final improvement is difficult to predict," Lehtinen said.
Lehtinen, who has been limited to 48 games each of the last two seasons, said the injury issues have led him to give some thought to retirement, but his goal is still to play next season.
Lehtinen's contract is up and he is due to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1. Lehtinen, who turns 36 in June, said the Stars are the only team he is considering right now.
"Dallas is the number one option," Lehtinen said. "I have not thought of going elsewhere at all."
Lehtinen said there have been discussions with the Stars, but indicated there had been no actual contract negotiations.
North America a possibility for Larsen next season
Recently signed defenseman prospect Philip Larsen said his goal is to make it to the NHL next season, but if he doesn't he could play either in North America or return to his team in the Swedish Elite League.
Larsen, a native of Denmark who played with Frölunda in Sweden this past season, will be at the Stars' training camp next season.
"If I'm not good enough [for the NHL] this year, there are two possibilities. Either I will come back to Frölunda, or I'd be over there and start on the farm team in AHL, the Texas Stars. That hasn't been resolved yet," Larsen told Sporten.dk, a Danish sports web site.
Larsen, 19, is currently in Germany training with the Danish national team for the upcoming 2009 IIHF World Championship in Switzerland. Denmark announces its roster for the tournament on Wednesday.
