Texas Stars re-sign captain Curtis McKenzie for 2026-27 season
Curtis McKenzie stayed in Cedar Park on a one-year AHL deal, keeping Texas’ captain, 500-point scorer and playoff veteran in the room for another run.
The Texas Stars kept the spine of their dressing room intact by re-signing captain Curtis McKenzie to a one-year American Hockey League contract for the 2026-27 season. The move kept one of the franchise’s defining veterans in Cedar Park, and it gave Texas another year of continuity from a player who has been central to the organization’s identity for more than a decade.
McKenzie returned for his 11th season in the Stars organization and his 14th season of professional hockey after skating in all 72 games for Texas in 2025-26. He finished that regular season with 11 goals and 18 assists for 29 points, a line that reflected the same dependable two-way presence the Stars have leaned on for years. His value went beyond the scoresheet, with steady work at the faceoff dot and a presence that stabilized all three zones.
The milestone moments keep piling up, too. On March 14, 2026, against Bakersfield, McKenzie recorded his 500th career AHL regular-season point, becoming the 101st player in league history to reach that mark. His AHL totals now sit at 725 games, 206 goals, 304 assists and 510 points with Texas, Utica and Chicago. He also has 99 NHL games, all with Dallas, underscoring how long he has operated at the top of the Stars’ pipeline.
The franchise history is already unmistakable. McKenzie ranks second in Texas history in goals, assists, points and games played, trailing only Travis Morin. That place in the record book began in 2013-14, when he arrived as a rookie, won the Dudley (Red) Garrett Memorial Award as the AHL’s outstanding first-year player, and piled up 65 points on 27 goals and 38 assists while helping Texas win its first Calder Cup championship.
His playoff résumé matches the regular-season durability. McKenzie has played in 104 Calder Cup Playoff games and produced 75 points, with trips to the Calder Cup Finals in 2014, 2018 and 2019, plus four Conference Finals appearances. Texas has also leaned on him as a culture-setter off the ice. He won the Yanick Dupré Memorial Award for 2024-25, was a three-time team Man of the Year honoree, serves on the Texas Stars Foundation board and helped organize a book drive that delivered new books to every student at Bluebonnet Elementary School in Round Rock. He also created the Captain’s Kids program for children facing adversity.
For Texas, the one-year AHL-only deal says plenty: keep the veteran captain close, keep the standards high, and keep the room pointed at another playoff push.
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