Stars Notes: Rantanen, Hintz, Faksa, Robertson
There’s some light at the end of the tunnel on the injury front for Dallas. Speaking on DFW The Ticket’s Bruce LeVine (all Twitter links), GM Jim Nill indicated that winger Mikko Rantanen is nearing a return to the lineup.
Injured back in the Olympics, the 29-year-old still sits third on the team in scoring despite missing the last 12 games, tallying 20 goals and 49 assists in 54 games in his first full season in Dallas. Nill noted that he has been skating on his own for the last week and is expected to accompany the team on their upcoming four-game road trip. If all goes well, he could return for one of the back-to-back games against Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
Dallas is only three points behind Colorado heading into tonight’s action for first in the Western Conference, a spot that would give them a much easier matchup in the first round compared to taking on Minnesota, one of the top teams in the league. Getting Rantanen back with a couple of weeks left in the season would certainly give them a boost in that pursuit.
Unfortunately for the Stars, the other injury news isn’t quite as positive. Nill added that center Roope Hintz has yet to resume skating as he continues to battle a lower-body injury that has kept him out for a little more than two weeks. At this point, the team is hopeful that the 29-year-old could be back for the final week of the season or the start of the playoffs. Hintz has played in 53 games this season, collecting 19 goals and 25 assists.
Meanwhile, Radek Faksa’s situation is even murkier. Nill noted that the center is dealing with a “unique injury” with “really no history as far as healing time.” As a result, there is no timetable for his return although they are hopeful that he could be ready for the playoffs. In his first season back with Dallas after returning in free agency this summer, Faksa has 17 points in 56 games while being their most-used forward on the penalty kill.
Nill was also asked about Jason Robertson’s contract discussions. The winger is slated to become a restricted free agent this summer where he will be owed a qualifying offer of $9.3MM. He’ll also only be one season away from UFA eligibility and could simply elect to go for a hearing, take a one-year award, and test the open market in 2027. That’s an outcome the Stars are clearly hoping to avoid.
Nill indicated that he has held discussions with Robertson’s new representation; back in January, both Robertson brothers hired Octagon’s Andy Scott as their new agent. However, with the stretch run and playoffs ahead, both sides agree that they want the 26-year-old focused on playing at the moment. That suggests that future talks have been tabled for the time being and will be rekindled in the offseason. Robertson is the leading scorer for the Stars this season, picking up 38 goals and 44 assists in 69 games. It’s the fourth straight season that he has reached the 80-point mark.
Stars Notes: Rantanen, Coleman, Hintz, Faksa
The Dallas Stars will be without their highest-paid player for a little while longer. According to radio analyst Bruce LeVine, winger Mikko Rantanen is 10 to 14 days away from returning, if not more.
Owen Newkirk of DLLS Sports offered additional context, providing a quote from head coach Glen Gulutzan, saying, “We are hoping somewhere in the 2-2.5 week range we could have him back.” At the longer end of that timeline, that means that Rantanen may not return to the Stars’ lineup until the first week of April.
Rantanen suffered his current lower-body injury during the Olympics, missing the Bronze medal game for Team Finland. Regardless, Dallas has performed remarkably well in his absence, managing an 8-0-1 record since returning from the Olympics, outscoring opponents by a margin of 21.
Additional Stars notes:
- Despite acquiring Michael Bunting from the Nashville Predators a day before the deadline, the Stars weren’t necessarily satisfied with their forward corps. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, Dallas circled back with the Calgary Flames regarding Blake Coleman. Unfortunately, any potential Coleman acquisition would have necessitated the Stars moving out another contract, which they were unable to accomplish before the deadline.
- In the previous report from LeVine, he added that Roope Hintz and Radek Faksa are further away from returning than Rantanen. Hintz (lower-body) has been out for the last week and a half, but he was fortunately able to avoid surgery. Unfortunately, the outlook is more grim on Faksa, who sustained a lower-body injury in his recovery from the upper-body injury he suffered during the Olympics. He is unlikely to return during the regular season.
Evening Notes: Larkin, Fabbro, Faksa
The Detroit Red Wings got quite the scare yesterday evening when captain Dylan Larkin exited the game prematurely from what appeared to be a non-contact injury. Fortunately, Detroit has avoided the worst-case scenario, as they announced Larkin was only expected to miss the next few days.
In Larkin’s absence, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press shared that the Red Wings are expected to recall a forward before tomorrow’s contest against the New Jersey Devils. Detroit already recalled forward Michael Brandsegg-Nygard earlier today while the team waits for recent acquisition David Perron to return from sports hernia surgery.
Given that the team could now use additional depth down the middle, it would make sense for Detroit to recall Sheldon Dries or Nate Danielson in Larkin’s absence. The latter has already registered 28 games with the Red Wings this season, scoring two goals and seven points with a 37.7% faceoff percentage.
Other notes from this evening:
- The Columbus Blue Jackets don’t expect to be without defenseman Dante Fabbro for much longer. According to team reporter Jeff Svoboda, the Blue Jackets are expecting Fabbro to return in the next game or two, although he didn’t play tonight. There’s not much information on what’s ailing Fabbro, but he’s missed Columbus’s last two games. He has scored four goals and nine points in 54 games this season, averaging 15:59 of ice time per game.
- Exiting the Olympics, it was believed that the Dallas Stars would have Radek Faksa back relatively soon. Regrettably, that has not been true, and there won’t be any changes in the near future. According to radio analyst Bruce LeVine, Faksa suffered a significant setback during his rehabilitation process, and the Stars aren’t expecting him back until the postseason. He will likely finish the 2025-26 regular season with two goals and 17 points in 56 contests.
Central Notes: Mikheyev, Namestnikov, Stars, Parayko
The Blackhawks showed some interest in signing pending UFA winger Ilya Mikheyev to a contract extension but now, they’ve put his name out there in trade talks, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports in the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link). The 31-year-old has 11 goals and 12 assists in 53 games this season while averaging a career-high 17:17 per night of playing time. Mikheyev has a $4.0375MM cap charge with Chicago (Vancouver is covering the rest of his $4.75MM AAV) and the Blackhawks will need to further pay that down to maximize their return. Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times suggests that the team might only be willing to go as high as two years on an extension offer for Mikheyev, albeit likely at an above-market rate. While that would allow him to potentially maximize his earnings and would keep in line with similar deals GM Kyle Davidson has done, this might be his last shot at a long-term contract. The stability of that might outweigh the value of getting top dollar.
More from the Central:
- Jets forward Vladislav Namestnikov left last night’s game with a lower-body injury, relays Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Free Press. The injury, which appeared to be a leg issue, happened early in the second period when he got tangled up with teammate Adam Lowry in the neutral zone. Head coach Scott Arniel told reporters including Wiebe (Twitter link) that the veteran is listed as out week-to-week. Namestnikov, who has been one of Winnipeg’s more versatile players this season, has seven goals and six assists through 57 outings.
- While he won’t be in the lineup tonight against Nashville, Stars center Roope Hintz is expected to skate tomorrow and travel with the team for their upcoming road trip, notes Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News (Twitter link). He has been dealing with an illness since returning from the Olympics but it appears he’s at least nearing a return. Radek Faksa’s situation is a little more uncertain as Assimakopoulos adds that it’s unclear if he will accompany the team on the trip. The center suffered a lower-body injury at the Olympics and is currently on injured reserve although he is eligible to be activated at any time.
- Blues defenseman Colton Parayko will be scratched from today’s game against New Jersey due to back spasms, according to Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (Twitter link). Parayko was a regular for Canada at the Olympics and was a full participant on Thursday, logging over 21 minutes. Through 58 games this season, the 32-year-old has a goal and 13 assists along with 141 blocked shots.
Stars Place Radek Faksa On Injured Reserve
Dallas Stars forward Radek Faksa was placed on injured reserve, as noted by Robert Tiffin of StarsThoughts.com. Representing Team Czechia at the Olympics, Faksa suffered an upper body injury which cut his time short.
The team has annouced the retroactive date as February 17, when the veteran was injured in Milan, meaning he could be activated as soon as Saturday. If such could be the case, he’d only miss one game, tomorrow against Seattle.
The ailment does not appear to be serious, but it’s another tough blow considering that top scorer Mikko Rantanen landed on the shelf from his own injury during the Olympic Games, and top center Roope Hintz is unlikely to play tomorrow as he is ill.
Chosen by the Stars back in 2012, Faksa returned to his long-term organization after a one year stint with St. Louis in 2024-25 to serve as a bottom six center. The 32-year-old has missed just one game, recording 17 points, already surpassing his output in the unusual Blues uniform last year. Faksa’s 43.3% corsi for in at five-on-five is a career worst, however he has started 72% of his shifts in the defensive zone, thanks to his trustworthy 56% face-off win rate. The fifth-ranked Stars hardly need offense from Faksa at this point in his career, as opposed to his usual shutdown play and penalty killing.
Dallas’ forward depth will be tested over the next few days as they return from the Olympic break, but in all likelihood, Faksa will return by next week in time for the team’s two-game Western Canada road trip which starts Monday in Vancouver.
Stars To Sign Radek Faksa To Three-Year Deal
The Stars are bringing center Radek Faksa back to Dallas on a three-year contract worth $2MM per season, sources tell Frank Seravalli.
Faksa will return to the Stars, where he’s already spent nine seasons, after only one year away from Texas. He spent that year away serving as the St. Louis Blues’ fourth-line center. He racked up five goals and 15 points in 70 games in that role, while also tallying 115 hits and 50 blocked shots. Faksa filled a toolsy role in St. Louis, often sat behind play and diving into plays in the corners and in front of the nets. But an ultimately quiet campaign from player and team will inspire a move back to familiar, and more productive, grounds.
Faksa reached 89 goals and 200 points in 638 games with the Stars prior to this season. Like he did in St. Louis, much of his time in Dalals was spent in a bottom-line, utility role. He routinely rivaled 100 hits and 20 points in scoring, though did have a bit more oomph in his early days – netting three consecutive seasons of at least 30 points and 100 hits between 2016 and 2019. But those days were far ago, and Faksa now reasons to step in as Dallas’ burly fourth-line center, capable of filling the roles his teammates won’t. At 32 years old, a three-year contract could reasonably carry him through the remainder of his career, and end with a retirement with the same team that drafted him in the first-round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
PHR’s Gabriel Foley contributed significantly to this article.
Free Agent Notes: Marchand, Gavrikov, Provorov, Granlund, Faksa, Pezzetta
If the Panthers can’t get a deal done to keep Brad Marchand in Florida before the market opens tomorrow, Darren Dreger of TSN expects the Bruins, Mammoth, and Maple Leafs to be his most aggressive suitors in free agency.
A Boston reunion would be surprising given there’s been no change in the front office that wasn’t willing to match Marchand’s cheaper requests for an extension during the season, resulting in the Bruins trading their captain to the Panthers at the deadline. Nonetheless, it’s a financially feasible move for them and one that would address their rather significant need for top-six forwards. The club still has $12.74MM in cap space after getting extensions done for names like John Beecher, Morgan Geekie, and Henri Jokiharju in the last 24 hours, per PuckPedia. Marchand would likely command a contract in the $8MM range annually if he hits the open market.
While Utah has seemed to dial back its rhetoric of making a significant free agent splash, instead placing complete trust in its young core and opting for more youthful pickups via trade, like JJ Peterka, Marchand might make more sense on a shorter-term contract. They still have nearly $15MM in cap space and enter 2025-26 with one of the youngest forward groups in the league – their only forwards 30 or older are Alexander Kerfoot and Liam O’Brien.
The Leafs also have their cap flexibility for Tuesday dialed in after getting rather affordable extensions done for Matthew Knies ($7.75MM) and John Tavares ($4.38MM AAV) in the last few days. They’d presumably be one of the more appealing fits for Marchand to remain both with a contending team and in a top-six role, potentially even seeing top-line minutes in place of the departing Mitch Marner.
Here are a few more rumors from around the NHL ahead of the official start of free agency on Tuesday:
- Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic relays that the Kings are making a last-ditch effort today to reach an extension with defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. While general manager Ken Holland said over the weekend he expects Gavrikov to test the market, L.A. still hasn’t heard back from Gavrikov’s camp on their final offer.
- While things were quiet on extension talks between the Blue Jackets and defenseman Ivan Provorov for weeks, they re-engaged in negotiations yesterday, Aaron Portzline of The Athletic reports. They presumably decided getting yesterday’s extension for Dante Fabbro done, ensuring they retain depth on their weaker right side of the blue line, was a priority over Provorov’s talks.
- Center Mikael Granlund and the Stars continue to have mutual interest in an extension, according to LeBrun. It still looks unlikely something will get done before tomorrow with the Stars having just $980K in projected cap space for next season, but they could reach a handshake agreement if Dallas is confident they can move out other contracts to make Granlund’s money work. They’ve already been successful in retaining vets Jamie Benn and Matt Duchene on below-market-value deals.
- Depth pivot Radek Faksa will have plenty of options tomorrow if he reaches the market, given the lack of centers available, but there’s still the possibility he stays with the Blues. The two sides remain in extension talks, says Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic.
- The Maple Leafs are among the teams expected to have interest in Canadiens enforcer Michael Pezzetta, assuming he hits the market tomorrow, reports LeBrun.
Blues Notes: Fowler, Holloway, Faksa
If he has his way, defenseman Cam Fowler won’t let the expiration of his current contract be the end of his time as a St. Louis Blue. Earlier today, Fowler told Lou Korac of NHL.com that he’d be interested in signing a contract extension with the Blues this offseason.
To be exact, Korac quoted Fowler saying, “Yeah, absolutely. Those decisions and those conversations will have to be something that we go through over the summer with Doug and the whole group here. I would love to be around as long as they’d like me here.” If he doesn’t sign an extension with St. Louis, Fowler’s eight-year, $52MM contract originally signed with the Anaheim Ducks will expire after the 2025-26 season.
If his production this year is any evidence of what’s to come, there should be mutual interest from the Blues. After being acquired from the Ducks on December 14th for a 2027 second-round pick and a low-level prospect, Fowler scored nine goals and 36 points in 51 games with St. Louis, averaging 21:42 of ice time per game. Furthermore, even though they lost in a hotly-contested opening round matchup to the Winnipeg Jets, Fowler led the way in scoring with two goals and 10 points in seven postseason contests.
Other notes from the Blues organization:
- In their Round One matchup against the Jets, two of St. Louis’ losses were by one goal, and there’s no denying forward Dylan Holloway could have played a part in rectifying those outcomes. Unfortunately, even though he was given a week-to-week recovery timeline, General Manager Doug Armstrong (via Lou Korac) had little belief Holloway would return for the playoffs. Still, Holloway is expected to fully recover in time for next year’s training camp and look to build upon his 26-goal, 63-point effort this past season.
- Fowler isn’t the only player interested in an extension with the Blues. According to Korac, there’s mutual interest in extending bottom-six forward Radek Faksa, and St. Louis has already begun those conversations. Although he doesn’t add much on the offensive side of the puck, Faksa has plenty of value defensively. He won 57.0% of 758 faceoffs for the Blues this season and finished the year with a 91.2% on-ice save percentage at even strength.
Injury Updates: Monahan, Zetterlund, Walman, Faksa
The Blue Jackets will be without Sean Monahan for a little while. Speaking with Daily Faceoff’s Jeff Marek (video link), team President and GM Don Waddell indicated that the veteran is dealing with a wrist injury, one that will keep him out for “some time, hopefully not a long time.” Monahan was expected to get a bone scan today to help determine how much time he’ll be out for. The 30-year-old has fit in quite well with Columbus this season, notching 14 goals and 27 assists in 41 games while logging 19:27 per night, his highest ATOI since his sophomore year a decade ago. In doing so, he has given them a legitimate number one center, a spot they’ve been looking to fill for quite some time although they’ll be looking to fill that role with someone else for the time being.
Other injury news from around the NHL:
- Sharks winger Fabian Zetterlund is dealing with a lower-body issue but should still be able to play on Friday versus Utah, mentions Sheng Peng of San Jose Hockey Now (Twitter link). The injury hasn’t resulted in him missing any time yet although he hasn’t taken part in several practices due to it. After a strong first year in San Jose, Zetterlund is producing at a slightly better rate this year despite the lingering injury, posting 11 goals and 16 assists through the first 43 games of the season.
- Still with the Sharks, defenseman Jake Walman is also hoping to be available for Friday’s game against Utah, notes Curtis Pashelka of The Mercury News (Twitter link). Walman has yet to play since the holiday break due to a lower-body issue of his own. He has been one of the breakout performers of the season after coming over in an offseason move from Detroit and has five goals and 20 assists in 31 appearances so far while logging nearly 23 minutes a game, numbers that lead San Jose’s blueliners.
- Blues center Radek Faksa is nearing a return to the lineup and could be an option to suit up on Thursday, relays Jeremy Rutherford of The Athletic (Twitter link). The soon-to-be 31-year-old is dealing with a lower-body injury and has played just once in the last four weeks. In his first season with St. Louis, Faksa hasn’t been a big offensive contributor thus far, carrying that over from his time in Dallas. He has two goals and five assists through his first 30 outings and if the Blues wind up selling before the March 7th trade deadline, he could be on the move with several teams undoubtedly looking to add center depth in the coming weeks.
Central Injury Notes: Texier, Faksa, Martinez, Smith, Bortuzzo
Lou Korac of The Hockey News reported earlier that forward Alexandre Texier would be a game-time decision for the St. Louis Blues this afternoon. Additionally, Korac shared that bottom-six forward Radek Faksa would miss his third straight game with a lower-body injury.
Texier has been battling an illness and missed St. Louis’ recent game against the Nashville Predators on Friday. He’s apparently all set to go as the Blues organization later confirmed that they’ve welcomed Texier back to the active roster for this afternoon’s game. He’ll join Pavel Buchnevich and Robert Thomas on the team’s first line and look to build upon his two-goal, five-point effort this season.
Despite being absent for nearly 10 days, Faksa isn’t expected to miss much longer. His lower-body injury was suffered in the Blues’ overtime loss to the Florida Panthers on December 20th but the team never placed him on the injured reserve. Faksa has added two goals and seven points in 30 games to the St. Louis roster this year.
Other injury news from the Central Division:
- The Chicago Blackhawks are expected to reintroduce a pair of veteran players into the lineup. According to Ben Pope of the Chicago Sun-Times, defenseman Alec Martinez and forward Craig Smith have been downgraded to day-to-day and are expected back soon. Both players have missed nearly a month for the Blackhawks with separate injuries. Chicago only has one open roster spot in the NHL meaning they’ll need to make at least one roster move to pave the way for both player’s activation.
- Utah Hockey Club’s blue line has been decimated by injuries this season but one veteran talent is expected back soon. Belle Fraser of The Salt Lake Tribune reports that defenseman Robert Bortuzzo has fully participated in back-to-back practices and is nearly healed from a lower-body injury. Utah never formally placed Bortuzzo on the team’s injured reserve but he hasn’t played since December 10th.