Stars GM gets brutally honest on injuries ahead of Stanley Cup Playoffs

The Dallas Stars are gearing up for a difficult Round 1 matchup against the Minnesota Wild, a series that will pit two of the National Hockey League’s best seven teams against each other.

While the Wild are virtually fully healthy for the Central Division heavyweight bout, the same can’t be said for the Stars, who are missing several key players.

Roope Hintz, who hasn’t played since March 6, has already been ruled out for Games 1 and 2, while Miro Heiskanen’s return date is unknown after he suffered a lower-body injury last Thursday.

That’s two critical players out of the lineup, joining Tyler Seguin,who underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL in his right knee back in December. This roster is nowhere near healthy, and has battled the injury bug all campaign long.

Despite that, general manager Jim Nill is not making any excuses as the Stars try to make it four consecutive trips to the Western Conference Final.

“Part of the game,” Nill told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun in a sit-down interview earlier this week. “That’s what impressed me this year about the team, the resiliency that we’ve had. From Day 1, we’ve been hurt. We lost Jamie Benn in training camp. We lost Matt Duchene. We lost Thomas Harley for six weeks. We lost Tyler Seguin for the year. We lost Lian Bichsel for two months. We lost (Nils) Lundkvist for two months.

“We’ve been battling this all year. Then we come out of the Olympics and lose three guys: Rantanen, Hintz and Faksa. But, we’re finding ways. And the young guys have really stepped up.”

One of those young guys is Mavrik Bourque, who recorded his first career hat trick in a 6-5 come-from-behind victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night. As well, players like Arttu Hyry, Justin Hryckowian and Oskar Back have made a difference in 2025-26.

Still, it’s going to be tough sledding against a Minnesota team that is flush with star power, and vastly improved by the addition of defenseman Quinn Hughes earlier this season. It’s a matchup that could go either way.

What Dallas has on their side is home-ice advantage; the best-of-seven series is set to begin at the American Airlines Center in Texas this weekend.

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