Jason Spezza Injury: Updates on Stars Center's Upper Body and Return

Dallas Stars center Jason Spezza will be sidelined for an indefinite period of time after suffering an upper-body injury on Feb. 4 against the Colorado Avalanche.  

Continue for updates.

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Latest on Spezza's Playing Status

Saturday, Feb. 6 

Stars head coach Lindy Ruff said Spezza will be out week-to-week, according to Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News. 

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Spezza Placed on IR

Friday, Feb. 5

Mark Stepneski of the Stars' official website reported the Stars have called up center Radek Faksa to take Spezza's place on the roster.

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Spezza Valuable Player at Both Ends for Stars

Josh Bogorad of Fox Sports Southwest highlighted the center's strong play as of late:

The 32-year-old forward is enjoying another solid season for the Stars with 40 points (18 goals and 22 assists) in 52 games. That equates to a 63-point pace, which is right in line with the 62 points he scored last season, his first in Dallas after 11 years with the Ottawa Senators.

He's also remained durable since joining the Stars. Up until now, he'd played in all 134 regular-season games over the past two seasons.

It sounds like that streak is set to end, however. Dallas returns to action Saturday night for a clash with the reigning champion Chicago Blackhawks and are scheduled to play three games next week. It's unclear when Spezza may return to the lineup without a more concrete timetable.

In the meantime, Cody Eakin figures to slide into a top-six spot for the Stars. He's tallied 10 goals and 13 assists in 52 games so far this season. Vernon Fiddler should also move into a more prominent role in the middle of the ice for Dallas.

The Stars' dynamic offense will probably suffer a slight drop-off without Spezza in the lineup. The silver lining is that they own the Western Conference's second-highest point total, so they can afford to give him the time he needs to completely recover.