"We're certainly not ruling out him coming back," Stars coach Rick Bowness said before Khudobin cleared. "He's still a part of the organization. Is there a chance he can come back and play? Absolutely. We haven't closed the door on that. We're trying to get him playing and then get him back on top of his game."
Khudobin is 3-3-1 with a 3.73 goals-against average and .873 save percentage in seven games (six starts) this season. The 35-year-old has not played since Nov. 18. He has one season remaining on a three-year, $10 million contract ($3.33 million average annual value) he signed Oct. 9, 2020.
Khudobin's best NHL season came in 2019-20, when he helped the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Final. He was 16-8-4 in 30 regular-season games with a .930 save percentage that was first among NHL goalies to play at least 20 games, and a 2.22 GAA that was tied for third.
During the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Khudobin replaced an injured Ben Bishop and went 14-10 with a 2.69 GAA, .917 save percentage and one shutout in 25 games (24 starts). The Stars lost the best-of-7 Final in six games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"When we left the bubble [after the 2020 playoffs] he had (COVID-19), affected his conditioning [last] season, it affected his play during the season," Bowness said. "It didn't fall into place for him this year, and that happens to athletes. Best thing we can do, if he clears, we haven't closed the door on him. If he goes down and plays well, there's a good chance we'll see him again."
Khudobin is 47-39-17 with a 2.53 GAA, .917 save percentage and five shutouts in four seasons with the Stars. Selected by the Minnesota Wild in the seventh round (No. 204) of the 2004 NHL Draft, he is 114-90-33 with a 2.50 GAA, .916 save percentage and 11 shutouts in 257 games for the Wild, Boston Bruins, Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks and Stars.
Stars general manager Jim Nill said Saturday that Bishop would be unable to continue his NHL career because of a knee injury that limited him to three games in the 2020 playoffs and kept him out all last season.
Braden Holtby (5-6-0, 2.39 GAA, .923 save percentage) has started five games and Jake Oettinger (5-2-0, 1.88 GAA, .938 save percentage) has started six since Khudobin last played.
