The Dallas Stars have signed forward Radek Faksa to a new five-year deal worth $16.25 million. The deal has an annual cap hit of $3.25 million. The Stars announced the signing Sunday morning.
FAKSYYYY! 🙌
We have signed Radek Faksa to a five-year contract worth $16.25 million
📝 https://t.co/cL5lgS8WQF pic.twitter.com/VZfdEE1Pu8
— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) October 11, 2020
Stars Re-Sign Radek Faksa
Faksa was an important part of Dallas’ depth in 2019-20. The 26-year-old scored 11 goals and 20 points in 66 games while averaging 15:53 per night. He also chipped in with 84 hits and 44 blocks. He was one of the team’s primary defensive forwards as 67 percent of his zone starts came on defence. That aligns with a 47 percent Corsi For as it’s difficult to win the shot battle when starting in one’s own zone so frequently. Faksa was also used frequently on the penalty kill with 1:27 of ice time coming down a player or two.
The Stars originally drafted Faksa in the first round of the 2012 Draft and he debuted in 2015-16 with five goals and 12 points in 45 games. His best year came in 2017-18 when Faksa posted a career-best 17 goals and 33 points in 79 games. He finished seventh for the Selke Trophy that year. The former 13th overall selection isn’t the offensive force some might have expected with a pick that high but he is a quality defensive forward. He is also perfect for Dallas’ gritty style.
What This Means for the Future
It is good that the Stars are bringing back a key part of its bottom-six but this is overpaying someone who’s never scored more than 33 points in a season. It’s also hard to imaging his scoring and possession numbers improving if they are going to start him on defence so frequently. His previous cap hit was just $2.2 million so the new one of $3.25 for five years is a significant increase.
The Faksa contract leaves Dallas with just $6.65 million in available cap space and two significant players to re-sign. Most of the roster is set for 2020-21 but Roope Hintz and Denis Gurianov need new deals. Neither has leverage as restricted free agents. However, both were far more important as scoring options in both the regular season and playoffs. The team might have to trade someone in order to satisfy their two young core pieces.
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