Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill had a busy day before his team officially opens training camp on Wednesday morning.
He signed Esa Lindell to a contract extension, a five-year deal with a cap hit of $5.2 million annually. He was entering the last year of a six-year deal that carried a cap hit of $5.8 million. The new deal all but guarantees that Lindell will be a Star for pretty much the entirety of his NHL career after being drafted by the club in the third round in 2012. He’s a mainstay on the penalty kill, and plays a lot of tough minutes. As Nill said in the team’s announcement video, Lindell is also a core member of the team’s leadership in the locker room, and has worn an ‘A’ the last few years as an assistant captain.
The last piece that needed to be completed, though, was actually Thomas Harley. An educated guess is that the team wanted to understand it’s long-term outlook in terms of salary cap committed to its blueline as they worked on a deal for the restricted free agent defenseman. What came of that was a two-year deal with a $4 million cap hit. Interestingly, the deal carries an actual salary of $3.5 million for this season and $4.5 million for next year, setting him up for a bigger pay day when he becomes an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent in the summer of 2026. The $4.5 million salary will set the bar for his qualifying offer at that time.
This signing means that everyone should be present for the first day of training camp, which kicks off tomorrow with off-ice testing, media filming, and team meetings. Nill and head coach Pete DeBoer will open the camp with a media availability in the morning, and then the on-ice sessions get underway at the Frisco StarCenter at 10 am on Thursday.
Practices are open to the public, though fans will need to get a free ticket for Thursday’s and Friday’s sessions here.
Thursday, Sept. 19
10 a.m. – 11 a.m. – practice on both ice sheets
11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. – scrimmage (Comerica Center ice sheet)
11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. – practice (practice sheet)
Friday, Sept. 20
10 a.m. – 11 a.m. – practice on both ice sheets
11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. – scrimmage (Comerica Center ice sheet)
11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. – practice (practice sheet)
Saturday, Sept. 21
10:30 a.m. – 12:15 p.m. – non-game group practice (both ice sheets)
6 p.m. – preseason game vs St. Louis Blues (American Airlines Center)