Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen has officially been ranked 13th in the NHL’s Top 50 Players list, joining multiple other players from the team in these rankings.
As previously reported by The Dallas Express, the NHL has ranked the top 50 players in the league ahead of the 2025-26 regular season, which begins next week.
These rankings have included multiple Stars players, including forward Jason Robertson, who is ranked 49th on the list, and defenseman Miro Heiskanen, who claims the 21st overall spot.
Now, Rantanen is the most recent Stars player to be announced, settling in as the 13th-best player in the NHL.
The Finnish forward put together an impressive season last year, finishing with 88 total points, comprised of 32 goals and 56 assists over 82 games.
Rantanen’s offensive prowess was particularly evident after his mid-season trade to the Stars, where he contributed 18 points, including five goals and 13 assists, despite playing in just 20 games following the blockbuster move.
This impact even extended into the playoffs, where Rantanen led the Stars with nine goals, 13 assists, and 22 total points in 18 games.
Moving forward, Rantanen should continue to improve as a member of the Stars with even more time to become comfortable with the system and his newest teammates, with Dallas expected to be one of the league’s biggest contenders to win the 2026 Stanley Cup.
Although this team is expected to compete at the highest level, there will be some speed bumps along the way that the team must work through.
The first obstacle of the season came recently, as captain and left winger Jamie Benn underwent surgery to repair a collapsed lung and will miss roughly seven games to begin the regular season, as reported by DX.
Luckily, Benn is expected to return early in the season, following a difficult opening stretch for the Stars, in which the team will match up against five teams that made the postseason last year.
Dallas will begin the season on October 9 with a road matchup against the Winnipeg Jets, followed by another road game against the Colorado Avalanche on October 11. The team will then return to American Airlines Center to start a two-game home stretch.