Roope Hintz is sticking around in Dallas long-term.
The Stars announced on Tuesday morning that the 26-year-old agreed to an eight-year contract extension. Frank Seravalli reported soon after that the deal is worth $67.6 million in total, good for an $8.45 million average annual salary.
The Stars selected Hintz in the second round of the 2015 NHL draft. He made his debut with Dallas in 2018-19, scoring nine goals and 22 points over the course of 58 games.
Since then, Hintz has developed into an excellent two-way center for the Stars, playing a key role on Dallas’ top forward line alongside Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson. Hintz broke out with a career-high 37 goals and 72 points in 2021-22 and has eight goals and 24 points through 22 games so far this season.
Hintz is currently in the third season of a three-year bridge contract that he signed with the Stars back in November of 2020 following the conclusion of his entry-level deal. He was set to become a restricted free agent in the summer of 2023 with one more year left of team control before being able to hit the open market as an unrestricted free agent in 2024.
The Stars signed Robertson to a four-year deal back in October so they now have two-thirds of their top line under control for the foreseeable future. Pavelski, who turned 38 years old in July, is on a one-year contract worth $5.5 million and will again be an unrestricted free agent next summer.
Other notable restricted free-agent contracts the Stars will have to deal with this summer are 2015 first-round pick Denis Gurianov and 2018 first-round pick Ty Dellandrea.
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