Faksa's Olympic performance cut short by an upper-body injury, raising concerns for the Stars' forward depth and penalty kill.
The Dallas Stars managed to avoid one major Olympic concern, but another situation is now drawing attention as the 2026 Winter Games continue to affect NHL rosters.
Dallas had some relief when star forward Jason Robertson stayed home for the tournament.
That decision looks even more important as injuries begin to pile up for other teams overseas, including the Los Angeles Kings losing top winger Kevin Fiala for the rest of the season.
The Stars, however, are not completely untouched as bottom-six center Radek Faksa was performing well for Czechia with two assists in three games before suffering an upper-body injury late in the overtime thriller against Switzerland in the final round robin matchup. The injury was reported by Elliotte Friedman and Czech reporter Robert Rampa.
Faksa missed Czechia’s qualification round game against Denmark and it was confirmed after Tuesday’s game that he will also sit out Wednesday’s meeting with Canada. He has not been taking part in practices, which increases concern about a longer absence.
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Czechia enters the game against Canada as a significant underdog. An early exit would allow Faksa to return to Dallas sooner for a full medical evaluation ahead of the Stars resuming NHL play next week.
Faksa has been a key part of Dallas’ forward depth this season, centering the fourth line with Oskar Bäck and Adam Erne while handling defensive zone starts and penalty killing duties.
If he misses extended time, players such as Nathan Bastian or Colin Blackwell could see increased opportunities in the lineup.
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