The Dallas Stars lost star defenseman Miro Heiskanen to injury against the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday. Fans held their breaths waiting for some semblance of an update. And on Friday, they learned that Heiskanen is now considered week-to-week. Head coach Pete DeBoer opened up about how this affects his team after the news broke.

Heiskanen is one of the team's more important players. In fact, no player on the Stars averages more time on ice per game (25:03) than the Finnish blueliner. DeBoer admitted on Friday that it's going to take quite the effort to hold down the fort. “This is going to be by committee; you don't replace a guy like that,” he said, via NHL.com.

It's a brutal blow to Dallas, especially on the heels of a rather positive update. Goaltender Jake Oettinger is no longer considered week-to-week. The Stars' All-Star was upgraded to day-to-day prior to the game against the Avalanche on Thursday.

Stars' Miro Heiskanen will return this season

In terms of good news, DeBoer didn't have a ton to offer on Friday. However, he did stress that the injury to Miro Heiskanen isn't exactly a worst-case scenario situation. “Going to have some tests today. It doesn't look terrible,” the Stars head coach said, via NHL.com.

The veteran bench boss went on to confirm that this is not a season-ending injury. Heiskanen certainly can return to the ice during the 2023-24 NHL season. That said, the good news essentially stops there.

“I would term it more week to week than day to day. No surgery or anything like that. That's all the good news as of the information I have so far,” DeBoer told NHL.com on Friday.

The Stars are in possession of third place in the Central Division as of this writing. Their place in the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs is a bit comfortable for now. Dallas maintains a six-point lead over the fourth-place Nashville Predators, who hold the top wild-card spot in the West.

That said, the Stars have lost their last two games. And it isn't clear when Miro Heiskanen can return to their lineup. Let's see if Dallas can hold off the Predators on Saturday without their top defenseman on the ice.