Report: Texas Stars Sign Former NHL D Derek Meech to AHL Deal

On Friday night, Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun reported that the Texas Stars have signed former NHL defenseman Derek Meech to an AHL deal. Meech is currently playing for Dinamo Minsk in the KHL.

The 29 year old Meech was drafted in the seventh round of the 2002 draft by the Red Wings. He played his WHL hockey in Red Deer and then moved to the Griffins for several seasons. He played significant minutes in 2007-08 for Detroit and successfully petitioned ot have his name on the Stanley Cup when the Red Wings won that season. Since then, he was assigned to the Griffins in 2010 and then signed by the Jets in 2011. He spent most of last season in St. John's, collecting three goals and 20 assists in 46 games. He has 23 games played in the KHL this season and only five assists.

This could be bad news for Russ Sinkewich, who is on a professional tryout to the Stars and scored his first AHL goal in Friday's game against Charlotte. Texas has been struck by injuries on the blue line both in Cedar Park and in Dallas. Meech adds 144 games of NHL experience that players like William Wrenn, Hubert Labrie and Ryan Button certainly do not have.

The Stars had no comment on the transaction report at this time. Texas GM Scott White is traditionally very tight-lipped about transaction news until players are actually in town and under contract. With Meech coming from Belarus, I imagine it could be a few days until something official comes from the Stars. The trip alone takes 24 hours (and costs at least $3000).

Comments

  1. So how might this affect the Texas roster in terms of the veteran rule? I know Petersen is injured for now, but will we have to rotate scratching veterans for a while?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's an excellent question. Meech has 500 games played in NHL+AHL so it's going to be a problem. Working on a post now.

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