Joel Hanley Returns to Cedar Park, Steadies Blue Line

(Credit: Taylor Sammarco/Texas Stars)

The Dallas Stars have returned Joel Hanley to the Texas Stars this afternoon as the club is seeing its defensive injuries begin to abate. John Klingberg is expected to play for Dallas on Thursday night, sending Hanley to the AHL.

In his time in the NHL, Hanley found his way into 16 games. He didn't pick up a point but provided a steady presence for a then- and still-ailing blue line.

Coming into the season, having Shanna Hanna and Ben Gleason anchor your top pairing was not the plan. Far from it. Hanley's return will help to further bolster a defensive crew that has weathered the storm and succeeded. Texas is 7-2-1 in their last ten and boasts the second-best PP in the league.

Here's the release:

Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has reassigned defenseman Joel Hanley to the Texas Stars.

Hanley, 27, has appeared in 16 NHL games with Dallas this season and recorded 16 hits, 16 blocked shots and two penalty minutes in an average 13:42 of ice time per game. Hanley has also posted five points (1-4=5) in 11 AHL contests with Texas so far in 2018-19.

The 5-foot-10, 190-pound native of Keswick, Ontario was signed by Dallas as a free agent on July 1, 2018.