Feb. 4: Heiskanen had successful knee surgery this morning and has been downgraded to month-to-month, DeBoer told reporters Tuesday (including Mike Heika of NHL.com). It’s unclear if he’ll be back during the regular season.
Jan. 30, 1:21 p.m.: Heiskanen has officially been ruled out of the 4 Nations Face-Off, per Chris Johnston of TSN and The Athletic, robbing Finland of their top defenseman. They’ll need an injury replacement in short order, presumably the Rangers’ Urho Vaakanainen or the Sabres’ Henri Jokiharju.
Jan. 30, 11:38 a.m.: Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen is out week-to-week with the lower-body injury he sustained in Tuesday’s overtime win over the Golden Knights, head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters Thursday (including Lia Assimakopoulos of the Dallas Morning News). As a result, the star blue-liner has been ruled doubtful for next month’s 4 Nations Face-Off, which would have marked his first international appearance for Finland since the 2022 World Championship.
Heiskanen left the game in the third period after a controversial collision with Vegas captain Mark Stone. The Golden Knights winger, who alleged he tripped over the stick of Dallas center Roope Hintz, fell into Heiskanen’s left knee and thigh (video via ESPN) and was assessed a minor penalty for tripping. Heiskanen needed assistance leaving the ice.
DeBoer said the initial injury designation came after Heiskanen underwent an MRI on Wednesday. They’ll have a firmer idea of his return timeline after a meeting with a specialist today.
Aside from his participation in the 4 Nations tournament, Heiskanen’s absence is a humongous loss for a thinned-out Dallas defense group in the lead-up to the break. The 25-year-old has taken on increased importance this season after they lost Chris Tanev and Jani Hakanpää to free agency and bought out Ryan Suter, averaging north of 25 minutes per game for the second time in his career.
Still, the ever-steady Heiskanen is having a down season offensively. That can partially be attributed to Dallas’ struggling power play – he has just seven points with the man advantage through 50 games after notching 21 power-play points in 71 appearances last season. But overall, his 0.50 points per game is his lowest pace in four years.
While he still leads Dallas blue-liners in scoring, possession metrics also point to Thomas Harley, not Heiskanen, as their most effective two-way threat this season. That’s not to say Heiskanen…
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