*Photo from the Dallas Morning News*
The hero of the Dallas Stars playoff bubble Stanley cup run is now gone. The Stars have placed goalie Anton Khudobin on waivers, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet. The Stars have confirmed the news.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Khudobin cleared waivers and will be assigned to the Texas Stars, the AHL affiliate of Dallas. Khudobin's last appearance was November 18 against the Minnesota Wild, when he was charged with 7 goals on 26 shots in a Dallas defeat. He is still under contract next season, at a $3.33 million cap hit.
Khudobin has appeared in 7 games for the Stars this season, making 6 starts. He has a 3-3-1 record with a 3.73 GAA and .873 save percentage. He became expendable after Braden Holtby has regained his starting caliber form, and Jake Oettinger has played so well since being called up from AHL Texas. Oettinger has a 5-1-0 record with a 1.52 GAA and .951 save percentage in the same number of games as Khudobin, proving to be a massive upgrade at goalie.
Stars head coach Rick Bowness didn't rule out a return, saying that "We're certainly not ruling out him coming back. 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 made his memorable mark on the Stars during their run to the Stanley Cup finals in the NHL bubble in 2020, after stepping in for injured Ben Bishop. Khudobin went 14-10 with a 2.69 GAA and .917 save percentage to go with one shutout to propel the Stars to the cup finals, where they ultimately lost in 6 games to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
For now, Khudobin reports to AHL Texas while Holtby and Oettinger become the top two NHL goalies, as Bishop has retired from hockey due to what has now become a degenerative knee injury, preventing him from playing again.
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