Looking at the Dallas Stars Injury Report at the End of 2026
It’s the end of the NHL season for the Dallas Stars; that means cleaning out the lockers, exit interviews, and, of course, the injury reports.
There are many occasions when the injuries athletes sustain, especially in the spring or summer, are kept hush-hush for reasons such as not wanting to discuss a starter’s weaknesses with opposing teams.
For the Stars, news of injuries has come out. Some of them we’ve known about for months; others we were just hearing about this for the first time this past week.
With the 2026 campaign in the books, we all learned who was banged up and how much so.
Rantanen Was Injured Back in February
During the Winter Olympics, Mikko Rantanen suffered a torn MCL. He didn’t suffer a relapse, but wasn’t 100% in the playoffs. Or even since the games ended in late February. Everybody could tell that Rantanen hasn’t been the same since the Olympics.
So while Rantanen didn’t get injured during the playoffs, he wasn’t 100% either. Rantanen was not his dominant self against the Colorado Avalanche and the Winnipeg Jets in last year’s playoff run. He could use a longer off-season as much as anybody else on the Stars roster this year.
Hintz Tore His Hamstring Twice
Roope Hintz never got to play against the Minnesota Wild. The Stars missed his dominance when these two teams last met in the playoffs back in 2023.
When Hintz was blazing up and down the ice. Scoring goals at will, too.
This time around, Hintz never got on the ice.
Bastian Missed the Playoffs
Somebody Stars GM Jim Nill acquired last off-season didn’t get to play a single game this past postseason. Nathan Bastian was not able to log a single playoff game this past spring after suffering a hand injury from blocking a shot on March 28. After the Stars won 6-3 vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, they also lost a depth piece for the rest of the season.
We will never know whether Bastian would’ve helped turn the tide against the Wild, or whether he would’ve been a non-factor or slowed the Stars down this postseason. Bastian had an ok season. We can’t criticize or praise him this postseason since he never played. He may have been able to help against a physical Minnesota team.
Lundkvist’s Unfortunate/Fortunate Cut
Possibly the Stars’ biggest loss due to injury vs the Wild was when Nils Lundkvist got hurt. During game four, when the Stars headed into the matchup with a 2-1 series lead, Lundkvist took a tripping penalty that was the least of his problems. Taking a skate blade to the face sidelined him for the rest of the playoffs.
Dallas’ defense never recovered. They were already ineffective in scoring five-on-five. Then their defense opened up a big hole for the Wild to exploit, and Dallas lost all of the remaining games in the series.
Hyry Hurt Late in the Playoffs
Arttu Hyry was taken out of the equation due to injury late in the Stars’ first-round defeat, suffering a high ankle sprain during game 5.
In the future, if Hyry stays in Dallas, he may already have a role on the team. Being a bottom-six forward who can win a lot of faceoff draws. Has the potential to provide depth scoring, too.
Stars Missed Seguin Almost All Year
Tyler Seguin missed most of the regular season, and of course didn’t play in the playoffs, tearing his ACL back on December 2. His contract with the LTIR helped the Stars acquire Michael Bunting. But in the playoffs, Dallas as a whole fell flat.
Given that Seguin is in his mid-30s (age 34), questions are coming up about how long he can remain a factor. It doesn’t help that Seguin has had an extensive injury history since the Stars’ 2020 Stanley Cup campaign, in which they finished as the runner-up.
Guys Who Played Hurt
Lian Bichsel, Rantanen, Heiskanen, and Oskar Bäck (sprained shoulder) went into the playoffs not close enough to full health—various players with different roles who weren’t fully healthy in the annual war of attrition.
Stars captain Jamie Benn has been banged up since before the season started.
Jim Nill also faces a big decision: whether Dallas should carry on with the captain whose play has been in significant decline over the last two years.
For the Stars GM and the captain, the dilemma might be loyalty vs progression.
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Categorized:Stars