2026-27 Player Profile: Esa Lindell

Name: Esa Lindell

Age: 32

Height/Weight: 6-3, 217

2025-26 regular season stats: 6 goals, 26 assists, 32 points, 23:14 avg. TOI in 82 games

2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Stats: 0 goals, 1 assist, 25:18 avg. TOI in 6 games

Contract: Entering second year of five-year deal that averages $5.25 million

Performance evaluation: Lindell continues to be a defensive rock for this team, and his role seems to be expanding after a decade with the organization. The lanky, reliable blueliner has played in all but two games during the past four seasons, and the Stars are tied for the best points percentage in the NHL in that span at .669. Last season, Lindell averaged 23:14 in time on ice per game (second most in his career) while playing beside Miro Heiskanen. That was up from 22:11 the year before, 20:28 the year before that, and 19:55 the year before that. It was his highest average time since the 2019-20 season. His six goals tied for second with Thomas Harley among Stars defensemen, while 32 points put him third in the group. It was his fourth consecutive year with at least five goals and 24 points, so he remains a consistent offensive producer on the Dallas blue line. He led the team in plus/minus at plus-30 and boasts the second-best mark in franchise history at plus-168, trailing only fellow Finn Jere Lehtinen (plus-176). Considering he has posted a plus-17 or better in each of the last four seasons, it’s hard to imagine he won’t set a new watermark for the franchise this coming year. Lindell continues to be solid on blocked shots as well with a team-leading 179 [Harley was second at 148] that put him fifth among NHL leaders. To top it all off, Lindell led the NHL in total shorthanded time on ice for the fourth straight season with a career-high 322:28. All in all, it was another successful campaign for the Stars’ longest-tenured defenseman.

Expectations for 2026-27: Lindell and Heiskanen have formed a strong pairing under the new coaching staff led by Glen Gulutzan, and that is expected to continue in the season ahead. While there has been a push for Lindell to help mentor Harley while Heiskanen bounces around between partners, the decision last season seemed to be keeping the two together and it worked out rather well. They were partners on Team Finland at the 2026 Winter Olympics and helped Dallas post the third-best record in the league at 50-20-12. Dallas finished second in GAA at 2.71, so the pairing is doing some great things while playing a heavy chunk of each game. However, Gulutzan has said he wants Dallas to push its offense up from 9th (3.33), and that could mean more challenges for the veteran defensemen. Lindell seems to roll with those punches and could actually be a big key to giving the forwards the confidence to take more chances. In the league’s volatile economic salary structure, he is a bargain at $5.25 million per season, and the guess is he will continue to eat up shorthanded ice time and deliver plenty of blocked shots on a nightly basis. Since becoming a full-time NHL player in 2016-17, he ranks top five in games played (762), blocked shots (1,440) and plus/minus (plus-171) among NHL defensemen. With Harley and Nils Lundkvist looking for more power play time and scoring opportunities, Lindell’s 32 points feel more than sufficient. The guess is he continues to do the same thing over and over and over again, just as he’s done for the past decade. And that will make the Stars very happy.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on X @MikeHeika.