The Dallas Stars have signed forward Radek Faksa to a three-year contract worth $6 million. The contract, which begins in the 2025-26 season and runs through 2027-28, carries an average annual value of $2 million.
Stars General Manager Jim Nill expressed his excitement about Faksa's return to Dallas. He highlighted Faksa's potential as an important depth player and a mentor for the team's younger players. Nill also praised Faksa's work ethic, community efforts, and professionalism, confident that he will seamlessly integrate back into the Stars' dressing room.
Faksa, 31, is returning to the Stars after spending the 2024-25 season with the St. Louis Blues, where he recorded 15 points (5 goals, 10 assists) in 70 games. He also contributed five points (one goal, four assists) in seven Stanley Cup Playoff games for the Blues. Before his brief stint in St. Louis, Faksa played nine seasons with the Stars from 2015-2024 after being drafted by Dallas in the first round of the 2012 NHL Draft.
During his time with the Blues, Faksa led the team with a 57.0 percent success rate at the faceoff dot, tying for ninth-best in the NHL among players with at least 750 draws. He also set a career-high with 7.56 hits per 60 minutes and tied for the team lead among St. Louis forwards with an average of 1:18 of shorthanded ice time per game. In his first stint with the Stars, Faksa experienced many highs and lows in the playoffs. However, his season with the Blues ended in disappointment after St. Louis fell to the Winnipeg Jets in seven games in the first round.
Throughout his NHL career, Faksa has accumulated 215 points (94 goals, 121 assists) in 708 regular-season games with the Stars and Blues, along with 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists) in 86 playoff games. He recorded a career-high 33 points in both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons.
Faksa's return to Dallas comes during a period of change for the franchise. After losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals for the second straight season, the Stars fired head coach Peter DeBoer. The Stars then hired former Oilers assistant coach Glen Gulutzan as their new head coach. The team hopes that bringing back Faksa will help them achieve their goal of returning to the Stanley Cup Finals and winning their first Stanley Cup title since 1999.
