6 Dallas Stars, 2 Staff Members Test Positive for COVID-19 Ahead of 2021 Season

The Dallas Stars announced Friday that six players and two staff members have tested positive for COVID-19.

The team noted that those who tested positive are self-isolating and following protocols. The Stars also announced that they likely won't play their first game of the 2020-21 season until Jan. 19 at the earliest.

Dallas had been scheduled to face the Florida Panthers on Jan. 14 and 15 and the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 17. With all of those games likely to be postponed, the Stars are now in line to open their season Jan. 19 on the road in a Stanley Cup Final rematch with the Lightning.

The Stars are coming off one of the best seasons in team history, as they thrived in the NHL bubble last season and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final before falling to the Bolts.

Expectations are high for the Stars because of that run, although they will be without two key players when the season opens, as top forward Tyler Seguin and starting goalie Ben Bishop are both dealing with injuries.

Seguin is on the shelf after undergoing surgery to repair a torn labrum in his hip, while Bishop continues to deal with a knee injury that kept him out for much of last season' playoffs.

Now, the Stars are facing even more adversity with multiple COVID-19 cases, and the NHL is dealing with its first major hurdle of the 2020-21 campaign.

On the heels of last season getting interrupted by COVID-19 and then finished in a bubble in Canada, the NHL is holding a 56-game season in 2020-21 with altered divisions for one season only.

Since there is no bubble, the NHL put all Canadian teams in the same division to remain in compliance with Canada's strict travel restrictions amid COVID-19.

The Stars will play in the Central Division, which features a mix of Eastern and Western Conference teams in the Nashville Predators, Florida Panthers, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Blackhawks, Carolina Hurricanes and Lightning.

It is unclear when and how the NHL intends to have the Stars make up for the three games that may get postponed, but it could create a difficult situation given how tightly packed the condensed schedule already is.