The Dallas Stars will begin their most important stretch of the season without their best scorer.
Stars forward Mikko Rantanen will miss at least the next two weeks of play — and possibly longer — with a lower-body injury he sustained during the Olympics, Stars coach Glen Gulutzan announced Tuesday after Rantanen met with doctors Monday.
The team placed Rantanen on IR Monday, which opened up a roster spot but also meant the forward would miss at least seven days. However, Gulutzan said he will miss longer.
The Stars coach did say Rantanen’s injury is not season-ending.
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“It won’t be one or two games,” Gulutzan said. “Let’s start at two weeks, and we’ll see where it goes from there. He’ll be out for some time.”
Rantanen suffered the injury late in Finland’s semifinal matchup with Canada, which led to his absence from the bronze medal game against Slovakia.
The loss is a concern for the Stars, who sit in third place in the Central Division with a game in hand, fighting for home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs. Rantanen — who joined the team ahead of last season’s trade deadline and signed an eight-year, $96 million deal at the time — is Dallas’ leader in points with 69 (20 goals and 49 assists ) in 54 games this season.
“He’s hard to replace,” Gulutzan said. “It’s just opportunity for other guys to get more time and step up in that role. You can’t replace a player like him, but you can mitigate the loss for a bit, and that’s what we’re going to try to do with different guys.”
His injury justifies GM Jim Nill’s desire to wait until after the Olympics to make a trade. If Rantanen looks to be out closer to a month or longer, Nill could prioritize trading for a forward ahead of the March 6 deadline when a defenseman appeared to be his top priority just days ago.
The Stars have $3.27 million in cap space to work with but could free up an additional $6 million if Tyler Seguin, who underwent ACL surgery in December, is deemed out for the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. The Stars are expected to announce a decision on Seguin’s status as soon as this week.
Rantanen isn’t the only Star to return from the Olympics unhealthy. Forward Roope Hintz returned with an illness and is unlikely to play in Wednesday’s game against the Kraken. Radek Faksa suffered an injury while playing for Czechia in the tournament and is probable for Wednesday.
Finnish defensemen Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen both practiced Tuesday and will play Wednesday. Defenseman Thomas Harley of Team Canada did not skate Tuesday but worked out in the facility. He is available for Wednesday.
Gulutzan said he has not yet decided which defensemen will play Wednesday and whether defenseman Lian Bichsel will be activated. He has been out for months recovering from surgery for a lower-body injury suffered on Nov. 30. The Stars would need to place a player on waivers to activate Bichsel from LTIR because they are at the roster limit.
The Stars reached the roster limit Tuesday morning when they recalled goalie Remi Poirier from Texas. That was a precautionary call-up, Gulutzan said, in case goalie Jake Oettinger does not return in time from Team USA’s celebrations.
Casey DeSmith will start in goal Wednesday, but Gulutzan said Oettinger is expected to be back with the team Wednesday at morning skate. He will back up DeSmith if he is with the team Wednesday.
Team USA was invited to the White House and President Donald Trump’s State of the Union address Tuesday. It is not yet known whether Oettinger will attend.
Due to both injuries and three weeks off the ice, the Stars will need to recover from the Olympic break. As entertaining as the tournament was, it left some scars that remind why the NHL has been so hesitant to send players over the last decade.
Nevertheless, Gulutzan said he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s hockey,” he said. “You can’t control all that. You’ve just got to play. I still think the Olympics are a great thing. I think they’re great for the game, and the players enjoy it.”
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