The Texas Stars announced this morning that they have re-signed captain Curtis McKenzie on a one-year AHL deal.
McKenzie, who started with the Stars as a rookie in 2013-14, is coming off a two-year AHL deal and his fourth consecutive and fifth overall season of serving as team captain. McKenzie is second to only Travis Morin in pretty much all meaningful franchise statistics, such as games played, goals and assists in both the playoffs and regular season. The more pugilistic McKenzie does beat Morin in all-time PIMs.
While McKenzie's numbers to an outside observer may have dipped this year, as is often the case of a veteran leader, it's not about what they contribute individually but about what they contribute to the group.