Dallas Stars right winger Mikko Rantanen's injury during the Olympics is leaving his team reeling for the next couple of weeks. And any trades by the March 6 deadline won't fill the gap.
The Dallas Stars have been one of the NHL's best teams this season. However, the team faces a challenge coming out of the Olympics, as star right winger Mikko Rantanen was injured while playing for Team Finland.
Rantanen had an excellent Olympics, posting two goals and six points in five games before being kept out of the Finns' bronze medal game against Slovakia. Stars coach Glen Gulutzan did not mince words when speaking to the media on Tuesday.
"It won't be one or two games (Rantanen will miss) – it will be, let's start (with) two weeks and then see where it goes from there," Gulutzan told reporters. "So he will be out for some time."
What hurts most about Rantanen's injury is that even though he's not expected to miss the rest of the regular season, the Stars are now without their top player in the middle of a battle for home-ice advantage in the Central Division, and maybe even the top seed in the West. They could try to address Rantanen's brief absence by adding someone before the trade deadline, but it won't be the complete solution.
The Stars are third in the hyper-competitive Central Division, just six points behind the first-place Colorado Avalanche and just one point behind the second-place Minnesota Wild.
When you understand how dominant the Avalanche have been for most of the season, you see that the Stars have been one of the league's top teams just to stay within fighting distance of Colorado.
Keep in mind, the Avs are 7-7-2 since Jan. 1, while the Stars entered the Olympic break on a six-game win streak. The top spot in the division is still up for grabs. If the Stars were to overtake the Avalanche for that spot, they'd have to face a much easier opponent in the first round, such as Utah, Anaheim, Los Angeles or Nashville, which are in the thick of a wild-card playoff race.
Dallas also has a game in hand on Minnesota. If neither team passes Colorado, they'll be facing each other in the first round, which means at least one Stanley Cup contender will go home early and massively disappointed. They need every advantage possible to improve their chances of winning what should be an even series.
The Stars have gone 16-7-3 at home this season, so securing home-ice advantage will be a priority for Dallas, with or without Rantanen.
Certainly, the Stars will miss Rantanen's contributions, as he's led Dallas in assists (49) and points (69) while playing 54 games this season. Rantanen has also been the Stars' most-used forward, averaging 20:12 of ice time. You're not going to find an adequate replacement for everything that Rantanen brings to the table.
Nevertheless, it will be intriguing to see whether Rantanen's injury changes Stars GM Jim Nill's trade deadline plans.
The Stars have $3.27 million in cap space, and Nill is known for making moves each season to help his team on multiple fronts. Last year, he acquired Rantanen, Mikael Granlund and Cody Ceci by the deadline, and the season before, he picked up Chris Tanev.
While teams will now have to be cap-compliant once the Stanley Cup playoffs begin, Nill will undoubtedly test the waters of the trade market.
If there's a pending UFA right winger whose cap hit is $3 million or lower, perhaps the Stars could acquire them as a rental to help Dallas stay in the fight for home-ice advantage. Bobby McMann, Corey Perry and recently-turned UFA Jeff Skinner come to mind, but if that should be enough proof the Stars will not be able to add someone who comes close to Rantanen's production while remaining cap compliant.
When he's healthy, Rantanen is the Stars' most dangerous player on offense, and Gulutzan leans on Rantanen the most of any Dallas player, giving him an average of 3:53 minutes of power-play ice time.
With that, Rantanen leads all Stars players in power-play points, with 30. Thus, you won't find someone available on the trade front to do what Rantanen does on a nightly basis.
These next few weeks will be a huge opportunity for Jason Robertson, who has 32 goals and 66 points in 57 games, to lead the way on offense without Rantanen. He's a pending RFA who has yet to sign a contract extension, and he can remind Dallas how much it needs him.
On the right wing, Mavrik Bourque will likely get bumped up. The 24-year-old has 11 goals and 22 points in 57 games, so nearly one-third of Rantanen's production.
The good news is that Rantanen's season will likely resume at some point before mid-April. When he does return to action, it will feel like Nill has made a major acquisition.
Every team inevitably deals with the injury bug. Dallas fans can rest assured that Rantanen will eventually give the Stars the boost they'll need when facing post-season threats like the Avalanche and Wild.
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