Zubov Out Indefinitely

The Stars have confirmed what fans have worried about for weeks - All-Star defenseman Sergei Zubov is going to be sidelined for the foreseeable future. Here's the pressy on it:

FRISCO, Tex. - The Dallas Stars announced today that defenseman Sergei Zubov will undergo surgery on his hip in January, and will be out indefinitely. The surgery will be performed by a hip specialist in Colorado.

Zubov, 38, has collected four helpers in 10 games this season, but has missed the last eight games due to injury. He also missed the season's first 12 games while recovering from pre-season hip surgery.

The Moscow native is the highest-scoring Russian-born defenseman in NHL history, and is the only blue-liner in the league to collect 30-or-more assists in each of the last 12 seasons. Zubov ranks 16th in NHL history in assists by a defenseman (619), and 17th among all-time blueliners in points (771), and is third among active NHL defensemen in both assists and points (behind Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom).

Zubov ranks third in Stars franchise history in games played (839) and assists (438), and is just five points shy of tying Bobby Smith for fifth on the franchise's all-time scoring list (111-438-549).

Hopefully some of the young defensemen that will take his spot (Niskanen, Fistric - I'm looking at you) can step up and embody his spirit.

In positive news, Dallas will get 3 players back for tonight's game against the Blue Jackets; Steve Ott, Stephane Robidas and Joel Lundqvist will all be in action tonight.