Longtime Dallas Stars defenseman Esa Lindell has no plans of heading out of the Big D anytime soon.

Dallas has reportedly agreed to a five-year $26.25 million extension to keep the key blue liner through the 2029/2030 season.

“Esa is a stalwart presence on our blueline and has become a player that can be trusted in all situations,” Stars GM Jim Nill said.

“He is a proven penalty killer who logs some of the toughest minutes and defensive assignments. We are excited to have him locked in as part of our defensive core for an additional five seasons.”

The AAV for Lindell is set for $5.25 million making him the second highest-paid defenseman behind Miro Heiskanen who makes $8.4 million.

After being drafted by the Stars in 2012 Lindell has spent his entire nine-year career in Dallas totaling 191 points in 604 games.

In 2023/2024 Lindell played in all 82 games finishing with 5 goals and 21 assists. Lindell also played all 19 Stars playoff games scoring three goals with two assists.

2024/2024 will see Lindell join a reformed d core for the Stars which brought in Matt Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin, and Brendan Smith amongst others.

Dallas will see high expectations this season after making the conference final in each of the last two seasons.

The Stars open their preseason schedule this Saturday when they take on the ST Louis Blues at the American Airlines Center.

Regular season play opens for the Stars on October 10th when they travel to Nashville for a much-anticipated showdown with the Predators.