Radek Faksa and Matěj Stránský Reunite for another 'Czeching Line' in Milan

Two Dallas Stars draft picks are back on a line together twelve years after their last go-round

Matěj Stránský hoists the Calder Cup in 2014 - Photo Credit: Colin Peddle/AHL

I don’t usually traffic in rumors, but today, I’d like to share something I heard way back at the end of the 2016-17 Dallas Stars season.

That ‘16-17 year ended up being a dismal one for the Dallas Stars. They had one of the worst penalty kills in NHL history for much of the year, and only an historically awful Colorado team kept them from finishing at the bottom of the Central Division.

That season was a letdown of a year in particular because of its following after the salad days of the 2015-16 season. One of the most exciting teams in recent NHL memory disappeared overnight, thanks to terrible goaltending, a rash of injuries before and during the 2016 World Cup of Hockey, and a probably-not-overjoyed coach in Lindy Ruff, who was in the final year of his deal after failing to get a contract extension after the 2016 run.

Now, if you know anything about the 2017 NHL Draft, then you know that the Stars would end up having quite a bit to show for that tough season. But as the 2016-17 year wound down, nobody could have known about the lottery luck that would bring Miro Heiskanen to Dallas as a result of the team’s stumbles.

So, with the season a lost one, the Stars’ priorities changed. No longer were they looking to win a championship, or even to make the playoffs. Instead, they began to look beyond that season, even trading Jordie Benn for Greg Pateryn in a clear signal of the club’s desire to make changes ahead of the full sell-off of players like Patrick Eaves and Lauri Korpikoski.

All of that disruption culminated in the final game of the season, when the Stars made a pair of recalls from the Texas Stars (who were also missing the playoffs that year). Dallas ended up recalling two first-round draft picks: Mark McNeill and Denis Gurianov.

But here’s the rumor: