Dallas Stars Sign Young Forward to Massive Contract Extension

The Dallas Stars, who most would argue took too long to sign a pair of young restricted free agents over the summer, did not hesitate to give one of their best young forwards a monster contract extension this week.

On Tuesday, the Stars announced that they had extended forward Roope Hintz to an eight-year contract that will pay him $8.45 million per season. The deal will kick in next season.

With the move, Dallas locks up another key part of its young core, joining Miro Heiskanen, Jake Oettinger, and Jason Robertson as other players under the age of 27 that it has locked up for at least the next three seasons.

The Dallas Stars have locked up Roope Hintz.

Hintz, who is 26 years old, is in the midst of his fifth NHL campaign, all with the Stars. In 22 games so far this season, he has eight goals and 16 assists for 24 points, which is tied for the third-most points on the team.

The scoring that Hintz provides is a good enough reason to keep him around, but the size of this contract is a product of his overall contribution to the team.

Hintz is second among Dallas forwards in ice time, making his presence felt on both the power play and penalty kill, both of which are top-three units in the NHL. He is also tied for third on the team in plus-minus at plus-13.

Throughout his career, Hintz has been an effective player for the Stars. He has been a minus only one time in his five seasons, and he has never failed to reach the 20-point mark, not even in 58 games as a rookie.

Last season, his 72-point campaign made him a household name amongst hockey fans, as he notched an impressive 37 goals in 80 games.

This is a huge contract for the Stars to take on next season, but it is a necessary part of building a team. Dallas knows what it has in its young players, and an eight-year contract for Hintz helps the Stars ensure that their youthful nucleus won’t be going anywhere anytime soon.