Dallas Stars Re-sign Jyrki Jokipakka While Other RFA's Wait

Early Monday afternoon, the Dallas Stars took to the microphone to make a few big announcements in regards to the team.

First off, they hired a new goaltending coach in Jeff Reese. But the more exclusive alert was the fact that the Stars extended restricted free agent Jyrki Jokipakka for another two years. His new contract is believed to pay an average of $900,000 for each of the two years.

Jyrki Jokipakka played a majority of his season with the Dallas Stars. After beginning the year at the top of the Texas Stars roster, Jokipakka proved himself enough to earn a call-up on October 24th. Throughout the season he endured a few recalls with the Texas Stars. But by the end of the year, Jokipakka held a full-time roster spot and made up the Dallas Stars top six.

At the end of the season, Jokipakka had logged 51 games, while tallying 10 points, all of which were assists.

Re-signing the 23-year old Finn for two more years was an excellent idea by the Dallas Stars organization. Jokipakka has a bright future ahead of him, and luckily he got the majority of his rookie defenseman kinks worked out in the semi train wreck that was the 2014-2015 season.

So now that Jokipakka is locked down, the question on everyone’s minds is: what about the other RFA’s?

It’s one thing to worry about the UFA’s, except that they have more options regarding their future and less restriction, which means they may be inclined to test the market.

But the RFA’s are a big deal. The remaining restricted free agents that spent a good amount of their season with the Dallas Stars are F Curtis McKenzie, D Patrik Nemeth, and D Jamie Oleksiak. These three all have different scenarios.

Curtis McKenzie (36: 4-1-5) could very well be regarded as the Stars hottest rookie forward, bar Brett Ritchie. These two had a lasting impact on the Dallas Stars team this past season, and were a big reason why the Stars remained in the playoff hunt so long. At the young age of 24, a new contract for him would seem almost assured, yet nothing has happened. The Stars have until June 30th to extend his contract before they would have to make a qualifying offer and at least retain negotiating rights as the free agent market opened.

Next: How Should The Dallas Stars Handle Curtis McKenzie's Future? VOTE

Patrik Nemeth (22: 0-3-3) hit a big obstacle in his first full year with the Stars. After playing in the first four games, Nemeth suffered a severe arm laceration in the fifth and was sidelined until early March. At age 23, it seems as though his defensive skill will be extremely helpful for years to come. But that’s only if they lock him down first.

Next: How Should The Dallas Stars Handle Patrik Nemeth's Future? VOTE

Jamie Oleksiak (36: 1-7-8) had a disappointing year. By disappointing, I’m talking about where he played the majority of the season. Oleksiak was glued to the AHL and ended up getting just a little amount of time in the NHL. He made the most of it though, tallying eight points in 36 games. Oleksiak is the perfect candidate for a sign-and-trade, but his statistics and physicality make him a valuable asset to the Stars blue line.

Next: How Should The Dallas Stars Handle Jamie Oleksiak's Future? VOTE

The Dallas Stars have more than likely already been in contact with each of these players and their agents. The question is, how much has been discussed and how much has been done? We’ll have to wait. Either way, once June 30th gets here, things may get just a tad more complex.

Next: Dallas Stars Announce 2015-2016 Preseason Schedule

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