FRISCO — Injuries were one of the downfalls of the Dallas Stars’ 2025-26 season, and players on Monday shed more light on what they were dealing with late in the season.
Forward Roope Hintz, who didn’t play after March 6 and missed all six playoff games, told reporters at the Stars’ end-of-season media availability that he tore his hamstring in two different places in a collision with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon. Hintz also mentioned the setback that prohibited him from playing in the playoffs.
“It was a lot of rehabbing. I was getting close, and then I kind of reinjured it again,” he said. “I was getting close. Probably the second or third game of the next round. I was getting there.”
But on Monday, it appeared that he had just a small scar on his upper left cheek where he had received stitches.
“It looked way worse than it is,” Lundkvist said. “I was pretty lucky in an unlucky moment.”
Defenseman Miro Heiskanen and forward Nathan Bastian also dealt with injuries late in the season. Heiskanen told Robert Tiffin of StarsThoughts.com that he tore an oblique muscle in the final regular-season meeting between Dallas and Minnesota, which sidelined him for the rest of the regular season. Heiskanen returned for the playoffs and appeared in all six games.
Bastian broke his hand while blocking a shot in the March 28 game at Pittsburgh. He said he was available for the first time to play in Game 6 of the first round and recovered far more quickly than initially projected.
“My goal was to be available,” Bastian said. “The difference between us trying to get Roope back and myself is obviously two different things. Even if I was healthy, I don’t know if I would’ve been playing anyways.”
There was also speculation that Mikko Rantanen was still dealing with an injury in the playoffs, as he didn’t quite look like himself, scoring just one goal in six games after scoring nine in 18 games last postseason. Rantanen suffered a lower-body injury in the Olympics, which sidelined him for over a month, but he returned to game action March 28.
Rantanen said Monday that he was not dealing with an injury in the playoffs, but he would not disclose what his injury was from the Olympics.
“It’s unfortunate because I was feeling really good before the Olympics,” Rantanen said. “It takes a little time. I felt good body-wise and power-wise in the playoffs, so it’s not an excuse, but always you want to stay healthy and play all 82 and stay in the rhythm, which didn’t happen.”
Stars coach Glen Gulutzan said he did think the injury impacted Rantanen upon his return, but he didn’t blame the Olympics for his team’s performance down the stretch.
“It’s hard to get on a moving train,” Gulutzan said. “He had a significant injury. … Medically, he was healthy, but he was playing catch-up.”
Stars GM Jim Nill did not speak Monday, as he typically does at end-of-season availability, to reveal any other injuries that might have occurred. Nill is expected to speak at a later date.