Stars deal Ribeiro to Capitals

FRISCO, Texas – The Dallas Stars dealt talented center Mike Ribeiro to the Washington Capitals today for a young forward and a second round draft pick (No. 54) in this year’s NHL Entry Draft. The deal provides the Capitals a No. 2 center to play behind Nicklas Backstrom, a spot essentially unfulfilled in any effective manner since Sergei Fedorov departed for the Kontinental Hockey League in the summer of 2009. Ribeiro, who turns 33 in February, has a year remaining on his five-year, $25 million contract and will count $5 million against the 2012-13 salary cap. Ribeiro tallied 63 points (18 G, 45 A) for the Stars this past season and has contributed at least 51 points in each of the past eight seasons. No one other than Backstrom, who has played primarily at the center position for Washington has had that many points since he arrived for the 2007-08 season. In total, Ribeiro played 461 games for the Stars, scoring 407 points (123 G, 284 A).
“We’d like to thank Mike for his contributions the last six years with the Dallas Stars, and wish him well with the Washington Capitals,” Dallas general manager Joe Nieuwendyk said. Eakin, 21, a third-round pick by the Capitals in 2009, had eight points (4 G, 4 A) in 30 games with Washington this past season. At 5′, 11″ and 179 pounds, his biggest strengths are his speed and quick release. A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Eakin started the 2011-12 season with the Hershey Bears, Washington’s affiliate in the American Hockey League (AHL). Eakin posted 13 goals and 14 assists for 27 points with a plus-4 rating in 43 games with Hershey. He made his NHL debut on November 1st, 2011 against Anaheim.

“Cody Eakin is a young, competitive player who we’ve had our eye on for some time,” Nieuwendyk said in a statement. “He plays a solid two-way game and epitomizes the ‘hard to play against’ mentality we’re building our team around. Cody’s future is bright, and we’re excited to add him to our club.” The trade means the Stars have three picks in the second round of this year’s draft (Nos. 43, 54 and 61), which began Friday night in Pittsburgh. Contact the photographer at Lewis.Bleiman@prohockeynews.com
Contact the writer at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com