Connor Carrick excited to 'move on to next chapter' with Stars

New Stars defenseman Connor Carrick hit the ice for his first practice with the team on Tuesday morning, less than 24 hours after Dallas acquired him from the Toronto Maple Leafs for a conditional seventh-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft.
"I am super excited to join a good team and move on to the next chapter," the 24-year-old Carrick said.
Monday was a whirlwind day for Carrick. He appeared to be heading to the waiver wire in the morning, and then the Leafs decided not to put him on waivers as the Stars approached them about a trade. Around noon, a trade was made, and Carrick was a Dallas Star.

WELCOME TO THE SHOW: [Rookies Heiskanen, Hintz make cut on Stars' opening night roster]
"I just grabbed my suitcase and started chucking stuff, not super organized," Carrick said. "Had some teammates come over to say goodbye. That was great, but I needed them to leave so I could pack and get out of there. I have a wife and dog, so we were working on their flights and was worried about helping them."
The Stars cut the deal for Carrick, a right-shot defenseman with 167 NHL games under his belt, due to Stephen Johns still not practicing due to injury and the team looking at several young options to help fill the void.
"We've been playing the last two games with what we call rookie defensemen in (Miro) Heiskanen, (Julius) Honka, and (Gavin) Bayreuther," said Stars coach Jim Montgomery, "and we just thought it was unfair for all three of those and for our team to have them in that kind of situation with the uncertain status of Johns."
Carrick began Tuesday's practice as the seventh defenseman, but as the session moved along he was skating with Honka on the third defense pair. Montgomery thinks there is plenty of time to get Carrick up to speed for Thursday night's season opener against Arizona at American Airlines Center.

"A lot of teams play similar," said Montgomery. "It's just get down the terminology and how we want to play on rush defense more than anything will be the obstacle, and that's what we worked on today. He got video and reps on it. Tomorrow we'll work on our defensive game."
The Stars think Carrick, who is listed at 5-foot-11, 195 pounds, will be a good fit in Dallas.
"He plays the style Jim Montgomery wants to play. He skates well, he's a good puck mover, and he's competitive," Stars GM Jim Nill said. "I've heard great things about his character. I think he is just a good fit for us."
Montgomery heard from a few people who had high praise for Carrick, an Illinois native who was a fifth-round pick by the Washington Capitals in the 2012 NHL Draft.
"Everybody just raved about what kind of kid he is and what kind of teammate he is," Montgomery said. "You can never have enough people like that."
Carrick played 47 games for Toronto last season, recording 12 points (four goals, eight assists) and a plus-five rating. But he got a sense early on in this season's training camp that the Leafs were heading in a different direction. And now it's a fresh start in Dallas.
"I kind of got the vibe on the way things were going; the writing was on the wall very early in camp," Carrick said. "I had goals there, and that is in the past now. I am going to bring what I can here to a new chapter with the Dallas Stars."

Johns out with concussion-like symptoms

Stars coach Jim Montgomery revealed Tuesday that defenseman Stephen Johns has been out with post-traumatic headaches. Montgomery said Johns started experiencing the issue as the team returned from training camp in Boise, Idaho.
"He's got post-traumatic headaches. That's the terminology I was told," Montgomery said. "It stems from some muscle tightening that creates headaches. It's not the same as a concussion. He just needs to loosen up. He's had a lot of tightening in his neck that leads into the brain and headaches."
Montgomery added that Johns felt good Tuesday and that he could be able to practice on Wednesday. The Stars did place Johns on injured reserve Tuesday.

Nichushkin nursing lower-body injury

Forward Valeri Nichushkin continues to be held out of practice. It doesn't appear he'll be ready for Thursday's season opener against Arizona, but Montgomery said Nichushkin could be ready for Saturday's game against Winnipeg.
"His lower-body injury hasn't healed as quickly as he would like, and he doesn't think he is ready to go full time in practice yet," Montgomery said. "He's day by day. I would expect by Saturday if he's not playing I would be shocked."

Hintz cracks lineup, Elie claimed off waivers by Sabres

The Stars released their final roster Tuesday afternoon and center Roope Hintz made the final cut. The 21-year-old Finn made a strong push with some stellar performances late in the preseason and secured one of the 14 forward spots on the roster.
"I am excited. I am going to do the best I can every day," Hintz said.
"I thought we saw him getting better and better," said Stars coach Jim Montgomery, "and when we saw him the last two games against NHL lineups he really stood out as someone who took his game to another level. We thought he was ready."

The Stars lost forward Remi Elie Tuesday morning after he was claimed off waivers by the Buffalo Sabres. Elie, a second-round pick in 2013, played 90 games for the Stars. Word that he had been claimed came just as the Stars were starting practice Tuesday morning. Elie came out to the bench to shake hands with his teammates and coaches before preparing to leave for Buffalo.
"That was all Jim Nill's decision (for the team to say goodbye to Elie). I was actually unaware that he was picked up," Montgomery said. "Unfortunate for us, but good for him. Classy move by Jim and everybody wishing him well."

Practice lineup

Here's how the Stars lined up in Tuesday's practice:
Jamie Benn - Tyler Seguin - Alexander Radulov
Mattias Janmark - Jason Spezza - Blake Comeau
Devin Shore - Radek Faksa - Tyler Pitlick
Jason Dickinson - Roope Hintz - Brett Ritchie/Gemel Smith
Esa Lindell - John Klingberg
Marc Methot - Miro Heiskanen
Connor Carrick/Roman Polak - Julius Honka
Ben Bishop
Anton Khudobin
Not Skating:Valeri Nichushkin, Stephen Johns (injured reserve), Martin Hanzal (injured reserve)
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mark Stepneski has covered the Stars for DallasStars.com since 2012. Follow him on Twitter @StarsInsideEdge.