Ales Hemsky felt like he found a home last season.
After struggling in Edmonton and then in his first season in Dallas, Hemsky finally saw his game turn around on a line with Radek Faksa and Antoine Roussel in 2015-16. The speedy winger was the perfect complement to his gritty linemates and helped that trio be one of the best lines in Dallas for a stretch of about three months.
So when Hemsky hurt his groin in the World Cup of Hockey and had to have surgery to repair it in October, all he could think about was getting back on the ice.