The Dallas Stars have a little bit of somewhat expected news to announce today coming off the NHL’s break for the 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics. Their star forward, who represented Finland at the Olympic Games, Mikko Rantanen, has an injury that will see him miss some action. Let’s discuss the details and how it might impact Dallas.
Glen Gulutzan said Mikko Rantanen will miss at least two weeks, possibly longer. He said he will be back before the end of the season.
— Lia Assimakopoulos (@Lassimak) February 24, 2026
Mikko Rantanen to Miss Time With Injury from Olympics
The forward sustained a lower-body injury against Team Canada in Finland’s semifinal matchup. This caused him to miss his country’s final game, the Bronze Medal contest versus Team Switzerland. Finland, and hence Rantanen, would eventually claim the bronze.
Now that he is back in North America, the Dallas Stars staff had a chance to evaluate him. Head coach Glen Gulutzan gave the news today on his timetable. He suspects Rantanen to miss a minimum of two weeks. He then added it could be longer. However, he was confident in saying that he would be back before the end of the season. Between now and then, the Stars have 25 games left until the regular season concludes on April 15th.
What Does this Mean in Big-D
For a Stars team that sits third in the dominant Central Division, they should be all right without their leading scorer. Heading into action starting tomorrow night, they currently hold a 13-point lead over fourth in the division, the Utah Mammoth.
In just his first full year in Texas, Rantanen is having a great season for Dallas. He is up to 69 points, with 20 goals and 49 assists. This will allow other Star players to pick up the slack, with those that are in the top-six rotation or on the power play. This could be good news, in the sense, getting more guys some offensive rhythm and opportunity ahead of the start of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The only bad part would be if Rantanen is not ready for the start of the postseason. However, as of now, it doesn’t seem like that will be case.
Main Photo Credit Jerome Miron-Imagn Images