Projecting The Stars: Miro Heiskanen

We’re almost at the start of the NHL’’s 2024-25 regular season, THN.com’s Dallas Stars team website is continuing to post a series of player projections for the Dallas Stars. We’ve been posting this player-by-player series and moved through Dallas’ group of forwards, and today, we’re moving on to elite defenseman Miro Heiskanen.

The 25-year-old Heiskanen is one of the NHL’s best all-around blueliners, and his importance to Dallas’ chances at winning a Stanley Cup cannot be overstated. The Finnish native has evolved into a true difference-maker in hockey’s top league, and the Stars need Heiskanen to be just as good as he settles into his peak years if they’re going to be true Cup contenders in 2024-25 and beyond.

Career: 205 assists, 258 points in 425 games

2023-24 Statistics: 45 assists, 54 points in 71 games

Salary Cap Hit: $8.45 million, through 2028-29

Summary of 2023-24 Season: Once again, Heiskanen was stellar for Dallas this past season, averaging 24:32 of ice time – three-and-a-half more minutes than the next-most-active Stars skater – while generating 10 assists and 16 points in 19 playoff games.

Heiskanen hasn’t yet won a Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top D-man, but sooner or later, voters for the award will come to their senses and honor Heiskanen for the skills that make him so valuable. He doesn’t have to be a highlight-reel machine as someone like Colorado star blueliner Cale Makar is, but Heiskanen’s day-in, day-out impact as a defenseman with a sky-high panic threshold is more than enough to label him as one of the best at his craft.

It’s true Heiskanen’s 2023-24 individual numbers dropped off from his career-best 62-assist, 73-point season in 2022-23, but no one is complaining about the impact Heiskanen had last season, or any season, for that matter. Most GMs would drop-kick their loved ones to acquire a player whose game is so well-rounded, and Stars GM Jim Nill knows how good he has it with Heiskanen.

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Projections For 2024-25 Season: As we see with THN Lineups, Heiskanen is Dallas’ top-pair defenseman, and he’ll almost assuredly pair up with up-and-coming D-man Thomas Harley. A recent NHL.com feature ranked Heiskanen as the league’s fifth-best blueliner, but for this writer, that’s probably not where Heiskanen ranks. He’s a top-three-in-the-league defenseman, and remember, he’s still just 25. His best years could well be to come, and if he does improve, a Norris win and a Cup win will likely be in his future.

Overall, we expect Heiskanen to log 24-26 minutes of ice time per game, and generate 60-75 points over a full 82-game regular season. If there is an area he can improve in, it’s in the number of games he’s played, as he’s only appeared in 82 games in one of his six NHL seasons. Of course, good health isn’t within his control, so he’ll need a little luck on that front to appear in every game the Stars play. But make no mistake – in every game he appears in, Heiskanen gives Dallas a chance to win because of his tremendous instincts and vision for the game.

Heiskanen is going to be Dallas’ top blueliner for many years to come, and his salary of $8.45 million – which runs for the next five seasons – makes him one of the NHL’s best bargains. Nill and Stars coach Peter DeBoer can confidently count on Heiskanen to be a key cog and team leader, and Heiskanen’s challenge now is to deliver the second Cup in Stars franchise history. Betting against him is not a good idea.

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