CARROLLTON, Texas — Dallas Stars center Tyler Seguin said Tuesday that his rehabilitation from December ACL surgery has been harder than any injury he has worked back from. Seguin spoke at the Dallas Stars Foundation’s annual Drive Fore the Kids golf tournament, in an availability reported by Robert Tiffin of NHL.com.
“I never thought I’d get slapped in the face with something this different than the rest,” Seguin said. “I thought a lot of things were hard, and then this one’s been probably the most challenging.”
It was his first public comment on the knee since exit interviews on May 4.
Seguin has not played since Dec. 2, 2025. Rangers defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov fell on his right knee in the first period of a 3-2 overtime loss at the New York Rangers, and Dr. Dan Cooper performed the surgery in Dallas two weeks later, on Dec. 16.
Seguin had 7 goals, 10 assists, and 17 points in 27 games last season. He was plus-10, won 53.6% of his faceoffs, and averaged 16:40 of ice time.
Seguin said he has talked with a few other NHL players who tore an ACL, and that no two cases matched his. Some had damage to the LCL, PCL, or MCL alongside it. Others had a different procedure than his.
“It’s special where I feel like if I hear someone has had an ACL they’re going through, I can sit down with them and talk for half an hour, just because I think it’s more selective, especially in our sport,” Seguin said. “I don’t think you’re going to know until you have to go through it. I don’t think you can explain it to anybody, what the process is of everything involved. Happy to know that I’m doing better.”
A setback in the middle of June forced Seguin to stop skating, and he has been trending in the right direction since.
“You know, just the length of it and the different ups and downs, it’s been challenging for sure, but there’s been a good support system,” Seguin explained. “Really, whatever happens, I know how hard I’ve worked and what I’ve put into it, and I’m proud of that part.”
Seguin was Dallas’ third-leading scorer when he was hurt, and Stars general manager Jim Nill said he had been taking faceoffs and killing penalties.
“He was a big loss for us,” Nill told NHL Network last week. “When we lost him on the (second) of December, he was like our third leading scorer (17 points in 27 games). … His game had really matured. He’s good on draws, he can score. He was killing penalties for us.”
Tyler Seguin’s Hip Surgeries Before The ACL Tear
Seguin tore his labrum during the Stars’ run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2020 and had a right hip arthroscopy and labral repair on Nov. 2, 2020. He missed all but three games of the 2020-21 season.
The other hip went on Dec. 5, 2024, a procedure to repair a left femoroacetabular impingement and hip labrum. Seguin had 9 goals, 12 assists, and 21 points in 20 games that season and was plus-15. He returned for the regular-season finale and played all 18 playoff games, scoring 4 goals and 4 assists.
Across the past two regular seasons, Seguin has played 47 games.
The Boston Bruins took him second overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. He has 367 goals, 459 assists, and 826 points in 1,016 regular-season games, and 29 goals, 50 assists, and 79 points in 151 playoff games.
Dallas Stars Training Camp And Regular-Season Opener
Seguin is in the final year of the eight-year, $78.8 million contract he signed in 2018. The deal carries a $9.85 million cap hit, and he is one of nine pending unrestricted free agents on the roster, according to TSN.
Dallas went 50-20-12 for 112 points last season and finished second in the Central Division. The Minnesota Wild eliminated the Stars in six games in the first round.
Dallas opens training camp Sept. 17 at Comerica Center in Frisco and plays its preseason opener Sept. 19 at St. Louis with a 6 p.m. CT puck drop. The Stars host the St. Louis Blues on Oct. 2 at American Airlines Center, with an 8 p.m. CT puck drop on TNT.
