The Dallas Stars announced today that they have signed restricted free agent Radek Faksa to a five-year contract extension worth $16.25M, or $3.25M annually.
Faksa was one of the Stars’ three key restricted free agents heading into the offseason, alongside Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov. He has become one of the Stars’ best two-way players the past few seasons, anchoring the Stars’ “FCC” line responsible for shutting down opposing teams’ top scorers along with Blake Comeau and Andrew Cogliano.
Although he was eligible, Faksa elected not to file for arbitration, which was an early sign that negotiations were progressing well between both sides. With this extension, Faksa is set to be a part of the Stars’ long-term plans, although without a no move clause, there is still a small chance he is exposed in the expansion draft next summer when the Seattle Kraken join the league.
At $3.25M, Faksa’s new contract is just a $1.05M increase on his previous cap hit. It is a very reasonable cap hit for a forward who is typically good for 30+ points offensively while providing high-quality defense. The term is fine as well, as Faksa will only be 31 when the deal expires and thus is unlikely to regress in that timeframe. If anything, he’ll get even better and make the contract look like a bargain.
In addition to re-signing Faksa, the Stars re-signed another RFA in Joel L’Esprance to a two year, two-way deal worth $725,000 annually. The Stars now have $5,957,969 remaining in cap space to sign Hintz and Gurianov to new contracts, barring any contracts being moved out via trade.
Here is the Stars’ press release on the signing:
Dallas Stars General Manager Jim Nill announced today that the club has signed center Radek Faksa to a five-year contract, which will run through the 2024-25 season. The five-year contract is worth $16,250,000 and has an average annual value (AAV) of $3,250,000.
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The center has appeared in 351 career regular-season NHL games, all for Dallas, registering 128 points (60-68=128). He’s also made three career trips to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, tallying 14 points (6-8=14) in 45 postseason games. Additionally, Faksa has made several appearances on the international stage for the Czech Republic, most recently at the 2018 IIHF World Championship.
“Radek has developed into an extremely detailed player and offers our team a mix of size, speed and physicality,” said Nill. “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.”
The 6-foot-3, 220-pound native of Vitkov, Czech Republic was originally selected by Dallas in the first round (13th overall) of the 2012 NHL Draft.