Locker clean-out day came early for the 2014-15 Dallas Stars in a season that saw the team put everything together too late to make a serious push at a playoff spot. As a result, numerous Dallas players and prospects will head to the upcoming 2015 IIHF World Championships in the Czech Republic while others will undergo off-season surgery and start preparing for next season.
Perhaps the most surprising revelation the team made on Monday was that team captain Jamie Benn -- fresh off winning the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL's scoring champion -- played through a nagging hip issue for much of the season and will undergo surgery. He is expected to be ready for the start of training camp.
Benn will not be available to Team Canada for the World Championships. Dallas general manager Jim Nill, who is also serving as the general manager for the Canadian team at the Worlds, has selected Stars forwards Tyler Seguin, Jason Spezza and Cody Eakin to play for Team Canada.
Additionally, Stars agitating forward Antoine Roussel will play for Team France, for whom he plays near the top of the lineup. Dallas blueline prospect Esa Lindell will represent Finland. Pending the resolution of contractual matter with the Stars, impending restricted free agent defenseman John Klingberg may don the Tre Kronor of Team Sweden.
Ales Hemsky will not be able to participate in the tourney in his home country. The Czech forward, who also deal with nagging physical problems during the season, is slated to undergo hip surgery.