First-rounder defenseman Honka placed on waivers by Stars!

Ahead of the 2019 trade deadline, there were a lot of talks that Dallas Stars defenseman Julius Honka was hoping to be moved and while he ended up staying, he didn’t play a single game with the team in 2019-20. He had announced that he would not report to the Stars as a restricted free agent and would play with JyP HT Jyvaskyla until he found a new team, though he attended camp this season after signing a one-year, two-way contract with Dallas at the end of October. 

However on Wednesday, Honka was placed on waivers by the Dallas, who are probably just looking to demote him to the taxi squad. But we could see how rival teams could look into the possibility of claiming him off the waiver wire. 

Some say Honka had actually managed to impress head coach Rick Bowness enough during one of the team’s scrimmages last week for the bench boss to mention him during his media availability.

But it wasn’t enough. 

However, this might be the best-case scenario for Honka, who’s been buried as the No. 10 defenseman in Dallas for way too long. 

It remains to be seen, ahead of tomorrow’s noon deadline, if another team wants to take this gamble as Honka has, let’s not forget, not played an NHL game in two years. Selected 14th overall by the Stars in the 2014 NHL Draft, Honka has two goals and 13 points in 87 career games with the Stars.The 25-year-old took part in nine games with the SM-Liiga's Pelicans earlier this season, recording three goals and seven points.

To be continued…