Former First Rounder Given Leave Of Absence From Stars

The Dallas Stars will be without six-year veteran winger Denis Gurianov indefinitely, to deal with a family matter.

Stars bombshell on Denis Gurianov:

FRISCO, Texas -- Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that forward Denis Gurianov has been granted an indefinite leave of absence from the team due to family reasons. The team will have no further comment at this time.

— Bruce LeVine (@BruceLeVinePuck) December 21, 2022

The leave was granted, said general manager Jim Nill, due to "family reasons."

The 25-year-old has two goals and three assists in 25 games this season, while averaging a tick under 13 minutes TOI per game. 

He's been in and out of the lineup over his career in Dallas, but has displayed his blazing speed and skating ability on occasion. 

Denis Gurianov, more of THIS please. #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/v7CP7GN6gE

— Nathan “Grav" (@NathanGraviteh) December 9, 2022

He scored 20 goals in his first full season, in 2019-20, but has fallen short of that since then, with only 12 and 11 goals respectively the last two years. 

Gurianov was the Stars' first-round pick,12th overall, in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He's on a one-year, $2.9M contract this season and will become a restricted free agent at season's end.

Photo: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports