When Mikko Rantanen was dealt to the Dallas Stars last March, it didn’t just shake up the NHL playoff picture - it quietly boosted Team Finland’s Olympic hopes in a big way.
Now, with the Winter Games on the horizon, Finland isn’t just showing up to compete. They’re showing up to contend.
“It’s great to have that opportunity, to play with guys you have actually played with and know,” said Roope Hintz, who’s expected to center Finland’s top line alongside Rantanen and Mikael Granlund. “It really could help us.”
And he’s not wrong. That trio didn’t just look good on paper - they delivered when it mattered most.
After the Stars brought in both Granlund and Rantanen at the 2025 trade deadline, the line clicked almost immediately. They played the majority of Dallas’ 18 playoff games together, helping the team reach the Western Conference Final.
Rantanen led the charge with 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists) in those 18 games - a postseason performance that put him near the top of the league’s scoring leaders. Hintz chipped in 12 points (6 goals, 6 assists), while Granlund added 10 (5 goals, 5 assists). Against playoff-caliber defenses like Colorado, Winnipeg, and Edmonton, they didn’t just hold their own - they drove the offense.
Stars head coach Glen Gulutzan, who watched that line dominate night after night, sees no reason to break up the band.
“I don’t want to overstep my boundaries, but I’m guessing they’ll play together,” Gulutzan said. “I think when you look at what they did there and what Esa and Miro have done this season, that’s a pretty good template for them.”
He’s talking, of course, about Esa Lindell and Miro Heiskanen - Finland’s likely top defensive pairing. The two have played together internationally before, but not much in Dallas until this season.
That changed when Gulutzan and his new staff arrived. They paired the two Finns early, and the results have been steady.
Lindell brings the stay-at-home presence, Heiskanen brings the elite puck movement - together, they’ve anchored the Stars’ blue line all year.
“It’s gotten better,” Lindell said. “We didn’t really play together before this season, so there should be some improvement.”
For Heiskanen, this Olympic opportunity carries even more weight. He missed last year’s 4 Nations Face-Off with a knee injury, and hasn’t worn the Team Finland jersey since the 2022 World Championships.
“It’s been a while, so this is good,” Heiskanen said. “It’s always nice to represent your country and to get to play with all of the Finns.”
And the familiarity factor can’t be overstated. With five Finnish players from the Stars organization involved, the chemistry is already baked in - a huge advantage in a tournament where teams only get a couple of practices before diving into pool play.
“Basically, all of the guys know each other really well, and we know we have good chemistry,” Heiskanen said. “Guys are used to playing with each other, and that’s an advantage, especially since we don’t have much time to prepare.”
The Olympic format is short, sharp, and unforgiving. You get three games to find your rhythm before elimination play begins. That’s a tight window to build cohesion - unless, of course, you’ve already got it.
Team Finland, led by former Stars legend Jere Lehtinen as general manager, has always leaned on structure, discipline, and defensive integrity. That foundation suits a tournament like this, where the pace is relentless and the margin for error is razor-thin.
Unlike the 4 Nations Face-Off - which was NHL-run and came with its own unique pace and rules - the Olympics bring international officiating and a different style of play. It’s a new challenge, but one Finland is built to handle.
“We’re definitely excited about getting the chance to see what we can do,” said Lindell.
Of course, not everything is going Finland’s way. Buffalo goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen has been ruled out with a lower-body injury, and Aleksander Barkov - one of Finland’s most dynamic forwards and a two-time Cup champ with Florida - has been sidelined since the start of the season after knee surgery. That’s a big hole in the lineup, and it means even more responsibility will fall on the shoulders of the Stars’ contingent.
But if there’s a silver lining, it’s that this group doesn’t need to build chemistry from scratch. They’ve already got it.
“It will be fun,” said Rantanen. “Me and Roope and Granny had great chemistry last year, so hopefully we can take advantage of that.
It’s big in a short tournament if you have guys who played together before. We’re just excited to get going.”
And with the way this core has played together - in Dallas and now for their country - Finland might just have the right mix of talent, chemistry, and timing to make a serious run.