Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer had some choice words for Minnesota Wild forward Brandon Baddock, who came close to injuring Stars standout Roope Hintz in a pre-season game Thursday night.
“It’s a dirty play. Liberties taken with a really good player, that’s unnecessary,” DeBoer said following Dallas’ 5-2 loss.
“That’s the kind of stuff we’re trying to get out of the game.”
The incident occurred midway through the first period when Hintz made a play to keep the puck in Dallas’ offensive zone. Moments after the puck left his stick, Baddock delivered a hit that caught Hintz off-guard.
Hintz left the game with 12 minutes left in the period, but returned to start the second and played the rest of the game.
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Following the hit, Stars defenceman Jerad Rosburg stepped up to fight Baddock, who received a game misconduct after he accidentally struck a linesman.
Hintz, 25, was third in Stars scoring last season with 37 goals and 35 assists in 80 games.