Stars Reassign Cameron Hughes

The Dallas Stars announced today that forward Cameron Hughes has been reassigned to their AHL affiliate, the Texas Stars.

The move signals that one of the team’s injured forwards is ready to return to the lineup for the team’s upcoming two-game road trip. The most likely candidates to return are either Michael Bunting or Radek Faksa, based on what head coach Glen Gulutzan told the media on Friday. Sam Steel, who is also day-to-day, is another candidate to return.

Hughes, 29, returns to the AHL having made a positive impression in what was the longest NHL recall of his career. He got into three games for the Stars, and was a healthy scratch for three more. While he didn’t play much, averaging just 7:19 time on ice per game, he did manage to score his first NHL goal, and also registered three hits and two blocked shots.

With the Stars looking to make a deep playoff run, this is a reassignment that was always expected. Hughes is a former AHL All-Star who has been one of the league’s most consistent scorers over the last half-decade. He’s scored at least 56 points in each of the last four seasons and has a career-high 66 points in 63 games for Texas in 2025-26.

The AHL Stars have already clinched a playoff spot, so what they have left to play for over the final four games of their regular season is mainly seeding. But they’ll still benefit from re-adding Hughes to their lineup, as the remaining portion of the regular season will allow him to re-establish his spot in the AHL lineup and more effectively prepare for the team’s playoff run.

Hughes is under contract for an additional season under a two-way structure with a $775K NHL salary, $450K AHL salary, and $470K guarantee, per PuckPedia.