Team ready for playoffs without Star defenseman

By David Mullen

As the Dallas Mavericks season appears all but over, the Dallas Cowboys undergo an offseason makeover leading to the NFL Draft on Thursday, April 24 and the Texas Rangers are just beginning a lengthy and arduous 162-game regular season, there is still hope for Dallas fans longing for postseason play.  

The Dallas Stars will make the NHL Playoffs, which begin on Friday, April 18. 

While that is not a bold prediction since the Stars are days away from mathematically securing a playoff berth, the Stars have earned a second season. By all accounts, Dallas has been one of the top teams in the NHL’s 2024-25 season. They are currently in second place in the Central Division of the Western Conference, eight points behind the surging Winnipeg Jets. 

Dallas has more points than any Eastern Conference team except for the Washington Capitals. The Stars have played competitive hockey all season.

The Stars are not flashy, but they are consistently good. So far this season, the club has had seven winning streaks of three games or more. From December 29 to January 11, they went 7-0-1 good for 15 points. The Stars were shining brightly. The players have fully embraced coach Pete DeBoer’s system. The offense is among the top units in the NHL, the penalty killing is strong, and lead goalie Jake Oettinger and capable backup Casey DeSmith are holding teams to less than 2.5 goals per game.

The defense, the one question mark entering the season, showed improvement behind star defenseman Miro Heiskanen. A 25-year-old Finn, Heiskanen was logging the most on-ice time of any player on the team. He was on the ice for more than one-third of the time in each game. The Stars were relying on him to anchor the defense, and he was playing at an All-Star level. 

Dallas selected Heiskanen with the third overall pick in the 2017 NHL draft. Oettinger was selected 26th, giving the Stars a foundation for the future. Heiskanen’s play and on-ice presence was so impressive that the Stars signed him in July 2021 to an eight-year, $67.6 million contract. Heiskanen’s contract seemed like a bargain as his play improved. 

In the 2022–23 season, Heiskanen broke the record, previously held by Stars fan favorite Sergei Zubov, for most points in a season by a Stars defenseman with 11 goals and 62 assists for 73 points. In 2024-25, Heiskanen has five goals and 20 assists in 50 games and his impact on the team is undeniable.  

Then, on January 28, in a 3-2 overtime win against the Vegas Golden Knights, Heiskanen suffered a season ending knee injury after a collision with Vegas forward and Dallas Stars fan’s current “Enemy No. 1” Mark Stone. 

In the MLB, NFL and NBA, injury reports are issued multiple times during the day. In the NHL, injury updates — and often the injury itself — are kept in a SCIF.    

The NHL has never been forward about giving injury information or updates. One theory is that gamblers don’t bet on hockey games and a player’s health status is not as critical as those betting on a pitcher, quarterback or point guard. Another is that NHL teams insist on providing the least amount of information possible to keep opposing teams guessing.  

An “upper body injury” in the NHL could be anything from an upset stomach to a broken collarbone. A “lower body injury” carries the same secret diagnosis. Eventually, it was identified that Heiskanen suffered a left knee injury and not a stubbed toe or a hamstring pull. 

 When asked if Heiskanen would miss the first round of the NHL playoffs, DeBoer said, “That’s a realistic possibility.” That vague response is considered a revelation in hockey circles.

What Dallas Stars fans do know about the Heiskanen injury is that he underwent knee surgery on February 4, recovery time is usually three to four months, and he is currently on the long-term injured reserve list. That puts him back on the ice sometime in May, or well into the NHL playoffs.

With less than one dozen games remaining in the regular season, the Stars are still playing well without Heiskanen but don’t seem as sharp on the ice. A March 7 trade with the Carolina Hurricanes netted prolific points machine right winger Mikko Rantanen. Arriving in his final year before heading to free agency, the Stars immediately signed Rantanen to an eight-year, $96 million contract. The offense is set for the playoffs, while the defense awaits Heiskanen’s return. Twenty-three-year-old defenseman Thomas Harley has improved noticeably in Heiskanen’s absence.       

A grueling 82-games season begins after training camp begins in September. The NHL playoffs culminate with the Stanley Cup final in June. Key injuries happen. Getting Heiskanen back for the NHL Playoffs, at least for round two, gives Dallas fans hope that a winner is on the horizon and a second Stanley Cup in the offing.