The Stars accomplished one of their biggest offseason priorities on Sunday morning, signing center Radek Faksa to a five-year contract worth $3.25 million annually.
The deal will keep Faksa — a 2012 first-round pick by the Stars — in the organization through the 2024-25 season, giving the Stars a shutdown center for years to come. Faksa was a restricted free agent and did not file for arbitration by Saturday’s deadline, signaling that negotiations between him and the Stars were progressing well.
Faksa (6-3, 220 pounds) centered the team’s checking line between Andrew Cogliano and Blake Comeau for much of the last two seasons, posting 11 goals and nine assists in 2019-20. He broke his left wrist in the Western Conference final against Vegas and did not play in the Stanley Cup Final against Tampa Bay.
“Radek has developed into an extremely detailed player and offers our team a mix of size, speed and physicality,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said in a statement. “He plays big minutes on both special teams units for us, while often times playing against the opposing team’s best players at even strength. We’re thrilled to have him in place for the next five seasons as he is a great teammate and a big part of the Dallas Stars culture.”
In signing Faksa, 26, to a five-year contract, the Stars bought four of Faksa’s potential unrestricted free agent years, which are typically more expensive since players who are at least 27 can solicit offers elsewhere. So in forming extensions, teams are often forced to increase the average annual value when the term length increases to compensate.
Nevertheless, the Stars managed to sign Faksa for a bargain rate of $3.25 million annually that will fit nicely in their cap structure, especially in a season in which the salary cap remained flat at $81.5 million.
Faksa will also be under contract for next summer’s expansion draft, which means he will probably be protected by the Stars. Teams can choose to protect seven forwards, three defensemen and one goalie, or eight skaters and one goalie. Should the Stars opt for 7/3/1, the protected forwards could be Tyler Seguin, Jamie Benn, Alexander Radulov, Radek Faksa, Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov, leaving one spot for either Joe Pavelski or Jason Dickinson.
With Faksa now signed, the Stars only have two restricted free agents left to re-sign: Hintz and Gurianov. Dallas has roughly $6 million to sign both players, which should be enough for the two speedy scorers.
If the Stars have to fend off an offer sheet on either Hintz and Gurianov, they can massage their cap space in a number of ways, including using a smaller roster size with waivers exempt players off it, placing players like Stephen Johns or Seguin on long-term injured reserve, or executing cap-saving trades.
L’Esperance signs: The Stars signed center Joel L’Esperance to a two-year, two-way contract worth $725,000 annually in the NHL. L’Esperance was a restricted free agent who spent most of the last two seasons with AHL affiliate Texas.
He’s played 21 games in the NHL, with three goals. L’Esperance tied for the Texas lead with 25 goals in 2019-20, and led the Stars with 30 goals in the 2018-19 AHL season. L’Esperance, 25, was not included in the Stars' 31-man roster in the Edmonton bubble.
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