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Dallas Stars Sign Defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka To Two-Year Contract Extension

[Ed. note: This story has been updated with salary information.]

The Dallas Stars have apparently wrapped up one of their upcoming restricted free agents as Dallas Morning News beat writer Mike Heika is reporting the team has agreed to a two-year contract extension with defenseman Jyrki Jokipakka.

Mark Stepneski had the official conformation from the team:

Jokipakka, 23, made his NHL debut last season with 10 assists in 51 games to go along with 19 games at the AHL level with the Texas Stars. He also played for Finland in this summer’s World Championships, where he had a strong offensive performance with two goals and two assists in eight games..

Jokipakka had a cap hit of $666,667 last year on the final year of his entry level contract. His NHL-level salary was $650,000, not including pro-rated signing bonuses and performance bonuses.

Update: Heika has the following news on the potential cap hit:

Notable RFAs remaining for the Stars include Patrik Nemeth, Jamie Oleksiak and Jack Campbell.

The Stars also confirmed the addition of Jeff Reese as the team’s new goalie coach while former goalie coach Mike Valley moves into a Director of Goaltending Development role. In the press release for the move, the Stars say the moves rounds out their coaching staff for next season with Curt Fraser and James Patrick remaining as assistant coaches and Kelly Forbes staying on as team video coach.

The press release for the Jokipakka signing is below:

FRISCO, Texas – Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has signed Jyrki Jokipakkato a two-year contract extension. Per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Jokipakka, 23, made his NHL debut in the 2014-15 season, posting 10 points (0-10=10) in 51 games with Dallas. The defenseman opened the 2014-15 campaign with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League (AHL), registering five points (3-2=5) in 19 AHL contests. Jokipakka also represented Finland at the 2015 IIHF World Championship in the Czech Republic, where he tallied two points (2-0=2) and a +2 plus/minus rating in eight games on the international stage.

He has skated in 87 career AHL contests, all with Texas, and has earned 26 points (8-18=26) over two seasons in North America. Prior to his time in the AHL, Jokipakka appeared in 159 career games in SM-Liiga with Ilves-Tampere, recording 44 points (15-29=44) and 56 penalty minutes.

“Jokipakka thinks the game well and has the tools to grow into an extremely dependable player in the NHL,” Nill said. “Over the last season, he grew leaps and bounds and proved that he could play effectively at this level. We fully expect him to continue that growth and become a big part of our defensive unit in the years to come.”

The 6-foot-3, 210-pound native of Tampere, Finland was originally selected by Dallas in the seventh round (195th overall) of the 2011 NHL Draft.

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