The Dallas Stars came close to making the Stanley Cup Final in 2025. Unfortunately, they fell short again, losing to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals for the second straight year. This is the third straight season Dallas has had its season end in the West Final.
The Stars have made some moves in the offseason, though they have mostly been cap dumps. Before NHL Free Agency began, Dallas sent forward Mason Marchment to the Seattle Kraken in exchange for two draft picks. More recently, defenseman Matt Dumba was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
However, this is not all they did. Dallas also added some depth pieces to fill out their remaining holes. Moreover, they focused on keeping some of their more important pieces. Most notably, they re-signed captain Jamie Benn to a one-year contract before he could hit the open market.
There is one move, in particular, that stands out above the rest of the moves the Stars made. Dallas re-signed forward Radek Faksa to a three-year, $6 million contract in NHL Free Agency this summer. For a variety of reasons, Heavy.com is naming Faksa the team’s best signing on the open market in 2025.
Radek Faksa Returns to Stars After Year Away
Cooper Neill/Getty ImagesRadek Faksa returned to the Dallas Stars after spending the 2024-25 campaign with the St. Louis Blues.
Faksa spent his entire career with the Stars prior to the 2024-25 campaign. However, last summer, this changed. Dallas traded the veteran forward to the St. Louis Blues shortly after NHL Free Agency began last year.
Faksa had a successful campaign with the Blues this past season. Though he did not light up the scoresheet, he did provide quality depth. He emerged as one of the best fourth-line centers in the NHL. His play set himself up nicely to earn a payday in NHL Free Agency.
Now, Faksa returns to the Stars after a year away. He has the chance to help their bottom-six as they push for the Stanley Cup Final once again. And Dallas can plug in a depth piece that won’t any time adjusting to how Dallas operates, given his previous familiarity with the franchise.
Dallas Excited to Have Faksa Back on The Roster
Faksa won’t light up the scoresheet, and he’s not a superstar by any means. However, he can play effective hockey down the lineup while also scoring the occasional goal. For these reasons, Dallas is quite pleased to have the veteran pivot back in the Lone Star State.
“We are thrilled to welcome Radek back to Dallas,” Stars general manager Jim Nill said, via NHL.com. “We know that he can be not only an important depth piece for our team on the ice, but a mentor to our young players off it. Between his work ethic and his efforts in the community, he has always been the consummate professional, and we know that he will be able to seamlessly step back into our dressing room.”
Faksa makes his re-debut with the Stars on October 9 against the Winnipeg Jets. He will face the Blues in St. Louis for the first time on October 18.
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