Stars’ Miro Heiskanen will play Game 1 against Wild

Heiskanen missed the last three games of the regular season after sustaining a lower-body injury April 9 against the Wild.

In 77 games this season, Heiskanen recorded nine goals and 54 assists for 63 points, averaging a team-leading 25:28 of ice time. Through eight NHL seasons, the 26-year-old defender has 67 goals and 279 assists for 346 points in 552 career regular-season games.

Heiskanen has also played in 93 career Stanley Cup Playoff games, where he’s scored 17 goals and recorded 48 assists for 65 points, averaging 26:21 of ice time. He was part of the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020, as well as their three Western Conference Final appearances in 2023, 2024 and 2025.

Heiskanen, a native of Espoo, Finland, was taken No. 3 overall in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft. He spent parts of two seasons in Finland’s top domestic league, Liiga, scoring 16 goals and recorded 17 assists for 33 points in 67 regular-season games.

Internationally, Heiskanen has represented Finland on a number of occasions. He helped his native country earn a bronze medal at the 2026 Winter Olympics, a gold medal at the 2022 World Championships, and he made two World Junior Championship appearances in 2017 and 2018.

The Stars finished the season with a 50-20-12 record and 112 points, second in the Central Division and Western Conference, and third in the entire NHL. Jason Robertson led the team in all offensive categories with 45 goals and 51 assists for 96 points.