Stars forward Denis Gurianov taking leave for family reasons

DALLAS (AP) — Dallas Stars forward Denis Gurianov is taking an indefinite leave of absence for unspecified family reasons.

The team said Wednesday when announcing the leave that it would not provide further details on the 25-year-old Gurianov’s absence.

Gurianov is in his sixth season with the Stars. He is one of the team’s fastest skaters but has been in and out of the lineup during his career.

After scoring a career-high 20 goals as Dallas reached the Stanley Cup Final in the pandemic-altered 2019-20 season, Gurianov has 25 goals combined in the two-plus seasons since.

Gurianov was the 12th overall pick by the Stars in the 2015 draft. He signed a $2.9 million, one-year contract for this season and is set to be a restricted free agent.

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