Stars’ Mikko Rantanen’s Olympic injury that ruined season was much worse than let on

The Dallas Stars lost to the Minnesota Wild in The First Round, and Mikko Rantanen made no excuses about the loss. But it’s come out from General Manager Jim Nill that the injury he sustained during the Olympics was much worse than he let on, according to Lia Assimakopoulos. 

“Mikko Rantanen tore his MCL at the Olympics. Nill said they would’ve liked him to have one or two more weeks to recover than when he did come back. ‘I never thought he was himself [after].’ He won’t need surgery,” Assimakopoulos wrote on X.

Rantanen played through the pain and still produced one goal and six assists over six playoff games against the Wild. Yet, like most of the team, he struggled to produce on 5 v 5. The Stars garnered two goals in the finale against the Wild, with one being on the power play.

Though he did score seven points, Rantanen was not himself throughout the series. In the past, he would have garnered the speed to get to the puck first. This time, he was not able to take over a game as he did last season when the Stars overcame the Colorado Avalanche in Game 7.

When Rantanen sustained the injury in the Olympics, there were no reports as to the severity of the ailment. But when he returned not long after, many did not give it a second thought. After returning from his injury on March 28, Rantanen produced two goals and six assists over the final 10 games. It looked apparent that the injury was slowing him down. Unfortunately for the Stars, he was not healthy enough to pull off heroics against the Wild.

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