On the heels of their first home win in eight games, the Dallas Stars are poised to announce they have signed center Jason Spezza to a four-year, $30 million contract extension, per Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News.
The Stars acquired Spezza this past summer from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for Alex Chiasson, Alex Guptill, Nick Paul and a 2nd round draft pick. It was a hefty price for a player with only one year remaining on his contract, but there was belief that Spezza approved the trade with the idea this would be a team he could stick with long-term.
Per Heika:
It was a high price in trade, and the Stars began to make inquiries early this season about signing Spezza to an extension. He showed interest, and the two have come to terms on a four-year deal that should work well for the Stars. The contract is supposed to be signed at some point on Friday.
Spezza has declined comment on the negotiations in recent days, saying only that he loves it in Dallas and is working to help the Stars get some wins.
Spezza is in the final year a seven-year, $49 milion contract that had a cap hit of $7 million but only paid him $4 million in salary this season. This extension will likely have a similar structure, with a cap hit that is just over $7 million.
The long-term effects of this signing will be explored in the very near future, but for now we wait on official news of the signing. It was speculated earlier that this was a deal that was close, and it’s likely the Stars were waiting for a big win to finally announce the news.