Stars D Heiskanen's status unclear for Round 1; Seguin skating with team
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The NHL playoffs are less than three weeks away and it's unclear whether the Dallas Stars will have their top defenceman for Round 1.
Miro Heiskanen remains sidelined after undergoing knee surgery on Feb. 4 and TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun reports his timeline remains in the air as to whether he will return this month.
The 25-year-old blueliner has five goals and 25 points in 50 games this season while leading the Stars in average ice time at 25:09.
"He had knee surgery Feb. 4 and at the time, the team said it would be three to four months for his recovery," LeBrun explained Tuesday on Insider Trading. "Well, it's two months on Friday and the updated timeline for him is anywhere from coming back for Game 1 of the playoffs or the end of the first round. And of course, the variance in those two scenarios looms large for the Dallas Stars who right now are matched up against the Colorado Avalanche in a Conference Final-worthy playoff matchup.
"So getting Heiskanen back, who leads them in ice time, would be gigantic during that series, but they don't know if they will."
Seguin skates with Stars
In a positive update for the Stars, injured centre Tyler Seguin skated with the team Wednesday in a non-contact jersey.
Seguin underwent hip surgery in December and was given a timeline of four-to-six months for recovery.
Prior to the surgery, the 33-year-old veteran posted nine goals and 20 points in 19 games this season, his 12th season in Dallas and 15th in the NHL. Seguin recorded 25 goals and 27 assists for 52 points in 68 games last season, his best point total since 2018-19 when he had 80.
The Brampton, Ont. native is in the sixth season of an eight, $78.8 million contract, featuring an average annual value of $9.85 million. The six-time All-Star is slated to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2026-27 season.
Hunt for Central crown continues
The Stars are currently riding a six-game win streak and have set their sights on passing the Winnipeg Jets to sit atop the Central Division and avoid the Avalanche in Round 1.
“We’re still trying to hunt down Winnipeg," Stars head coach Pete DeBoer said after Monday's 3-1 win over the Seattle Kraken. “And we’re probably going to have to win almost every night here in order to have a chance to do that, and that’s our group’s goal.”
Dallas received a break Tuesday as the Jets suffered a 4-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings, giving the Stars a game in hand as they remain four points behind Winnipeg.
A finish atop the Central Division would put Dallas in line to host the bottom wild-card team, currently the Minnesota Wild, who are one point back of the St. Louis Blues with a game in hand. The winner of a series behind the Jets and Avalanche would then await them in the second round.