General manager Jim Nill revealed the brutal physical toll of a grueling season, detailing devastating fractures, torn ligaments, and concussions that ultimately derailed the Stars' championship ambitions.
With the early exit out of the playoffs for the Dallas Stars, the end of season press conference took place. A few days ago head coach, Glen Gulutzan, along with several players spoke to the media about their thoughts on the playoffs, the season in general, etc. Yesterday, it was general manager, Jim Nill's turn to take the podium.
Dallas Stars left wing Jason Robertson (21) and defenseman Miro Heiskanen (4) celebrates a goal scored by Heiskanen against the Minnesota Wild in game five of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn ImagesNill started off by talking about how the season was a disappointment, but that the extra time off between now and next season is the silver lining. If you take into consideration, the last three years of the Stars making it to the Western Conference Final, the Four Nations Face Off last season, combined with this year's grueling schedule due to the Olympics, the Stars have not had much time to rest or recover.
The Stars were plagued with injuries all season long, but Nill went through the long list of who had injuries, what exactly they were and how long they were affected and it is no doubt one of the longer lists in recent years for Dallas. The injuries are as follows:
Oskar Back - wrist injury in October where he missed ten games and a sprained shoulder in the playoffs.
Nathan Bastian - broken finger, he had surgery and would have been available for the second round of the playoffs.
Jamie Benn - punctured lung in training camp and a concussion in December.
Lian Bischel - fractured leg and ankle during the regular season, missed 32 games and a sprained shoulder in the last game of the playoffs.
Michael Bunting - groin injury, was not available until playoffs.
Matt Duchene - concussion during regular season, missed 25 games.
Adam Erne - MCL sprain in December, missed 4-6 weeks.
Radek Faksa - concussion at Olympics, then suffered a laceration on foot after being stepped on by skate. They were unsure if he would return for playoffs, the injury could still require more surgery.
Thomas Harley - broken foot in November, missed 12 games.
Miro Heiskanen - suffered an oblique tear just before playoffs and was not fully healthy and a sprained ankle in playoffs.
Roope Hintz - sick at Olympics, suffered a double hamstring tear in first game back. Re-injured when he was getting close to return.
Arttu Hyry - high ankle sprain during playoffs, still out another 2-4 weeks.
Nils Lundkvist - fractured leg and ankle in regular season, facial laceration and concussion during playoffs.
Mikko Rantanen - torn MCL during Olympics, returned by was never fully up to speed.
Tyler Seguin - torn ACL in December, did not return, should be ready by training camp.
Ilya Lyubushkin - shoulder injury during regular season.
Sam Steel - groin injury during regular season.
Tyler Meyers - groin injury during the regular season.
Nill also advised that four or five players were asked to play in Worlds and they all declined. It appears the goal this off-season is to get healthy and rested with the extra time off.
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