DALLAS — NHL Network ranked Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen fifth among all NHL defensemen entering the 2026-27 season. The top-20 list was revealed Sunday and published Monday on NHL.com as the second installment of a nine-part series.
Four defensemen ranked ahead of Heiskanen. Cale Makar of the Colorado Avalanche topped the list. Quinn Hughes, traded from Vancouver to the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 12, was second.
Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets, last season’s Norris Trophy winner, ranked third. Rasmus Dahlin of the Buffalo Sabres was fourth.
Heiskanen dropped one spot from August 2025 when NHL Network ranked him fourth.
Miro Heiskanen’s 2025-26 Numbers
Heiskanen played 77 games last season, with 9 goals, 54 assists, and 63 points. He was plus-9 and blocked 132 shots. His average ice time of 25:28 ranked fourth among NHL players, with 63 points ninth among defensemen. He was eighth in Norris Trophy voting.
The 27-year-old played on both special-teams units, averaging 3:27 on the power play and 3:06 on the penalty kill. NHL Network said he was the only player to average over three minutes in both last season. Mikhail Sergachev, then with Utah, was the only NHL player to do it in 2024-25.
Dallas converted 71 of 248 power plays for a 28.63% success rate, surpassing the league average of 21.11%.
Heiskanen has served as an alternate captain in Dallas and was the third overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft. He signed an eight-year, $67.6 million contract extension with the Stars in July 2021.
The 2025-26 season also represented a return to a much heavier workload after injury cost him most of the previous year. Heiskanen appeared in only 50 regular-season games in 2024-25 and did not return from his knee injury until the second round of that year’s playoffs.
Miro Heiskanen In The Playoffs And At The Olympics
Dallas went 50-20-12 for 112 points last season, finishing second in the Central Division before losing its first-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild in six games.
Heiskanen scored 2 goals, 4 assists, and 6 points in six games, averaging 30:30 ice time, but finished minus-9.
His season also included an Olympic medal. At the 2026 Winter Olympics, Heiskanen helped Finland win bronze with 2 goals, 3 assists, and 5 points in six games, ending with two assists in Finland’s 6-1 bronze-medal game victory.
Thomas Harley Drops Out After Ranking 14th
Thomas Harley ranked 14th on NHL Network’s list in August 2025. He did not make the top 20 this time, leaving Heiskanen as the only Dallas defenseman included.
Harley played 70 games last season, scoring 6 goals with 30 assists and 36 points. He was plus-3 and averaged 23:03 of ice time. His 148 blocked shots ranked second on the Stars.
Esa Lindell led Dallas with 179 blocked shots while playing all 82 games. Lindell also led the team with a plus-30 rating.
Central Division Well Represented
Seven of the 20 defensemen selected by NHL Network play in the Central Division.
Makar, Hughes and Heiskanen were all in the top five. Brock Faber, also of the Minnesota Wild, Roman Josi of the Nashville Predators, Josh Morrissey of the Winnipeg Jets and Devon Toews of the Colorado Avalanche rounded out the division’s representation.
NHL Network’s top 20 wings were published Aug. 3. The defensemen rankings followed as the second installment of the network’s nine-part preseason series.
