Stars, Esa Lindell agree to five-year extension

The Stars are close to extending the contract of the defender, who has a chance of being released on a free agency contract without restrictions. Eva LindellESPN’s Kevin Weekes reports Tuesday. It’s a five-year, $26.25 million deal, PuckPedia reports, that will keep him in Texas through 2029-30.

That’s $5.25 million in salary cap hits, a slight drop in average annual salary from the six-year, $34.8 million extension with $5.8 million in salary cap hits he signed in 2019 to keep him off the RFA market. He’s entering the final season of that deal. His extension includes a no-trade clause from 2025-26 through 2027-28 and a 20-team no-trade clause for the 2028-29 and 2029-30 campaigns. The full breakdown is as follows:

2025-26: $4 million base salary, $2.5 million signing bonus
2026-27: $4 million base salary, $2.5 million signing bonus
2027-28: $4.25 million base salary, $1 million signing bonus
2028-29: $4 million base salary
2029-30: $4 million base salary

With a restricted free agent Thomas Harley still unsigned with one day left in training camp, it’s not the kind of contract news Stars fans were expecting from a top-four defenseman. But it’s crucial to keeping Lindell, one of the league’s best defensemen who has spent most of the last decade at home in Dallas, after this season.

Despite being 6’3″ and 220 pounds, Lindell is no musclehead. In fact, he is considered one of the more gentlemanly players in the league, finishing in the top 25 in Lady Byng Trophy voting each of the last three years.

His closing game is all about awareness and strong skating to maintain position when defending an attack or backchecking. He was a solid presence in even-strength defensive situations last year, recording 62.5% of his zone starts in his own end and still controlling 53.7% of his expected goals.

The 30-year-old Finn consistently has below-average shot attempts, but he’s a prime example of why CF% is rarely the be-all and end-all of how well a player controls possession. He may waste low-risk chances, but he rarely lets high-risk chances reach the Dallas net.

Lindell is no small factor offensively either, scoring 20-plus points in each of the last three years, notching five goals and 21 assists for 26 points in 82 games last season. He’s also incredibly durable, not missing a regular-season game since 2021-22.

Since Peter DeBoer took over the bench role, his ice time has been reduced to more conservative levels. Rick Bowness in the 2022 offseason. After a half-decade of consistently seeing more than 22 minutes per game, Lindell has averaged 20:12 over the past two seasons.

Lindell will once again be required to anchor Dallas’ second pair this season, although there will be some competition over who ends up as his starting right tackle. UFA Signings Mathew Dumba AND Ilya Lyubushkin They are expected to apply for the role as replacements for tenants due in 2024. Chris Tanev.

According to PuckPedia, the Stars currently have $37.5 million in projected salary cap space for the 2025-26 season, assuming a $92 million cap hit. However, that number only includes 10 players, with most of their forward group (and the Stars’ goalie) Jake Oettinger) is expected to receive RFA or UFA status next summer.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.