Radek Faksa knew the call was coming.
He didn’t know when it would come. He didn’t know where it would send him. But he knew, at some point this summer, he would be traded.
Last week, Faksa received the call that he’d been traded from Dallas to ºüÀêÊÓƵ, as the Blues acquired the veteran, defensive-minded center for future considerations.
“I was talking to (Dallas GM Jim Nill) after the season, so I knew the trade was coming, I just didn’t know where it’s going to be,†Faksa said. “We were just eating lunch, and I saw a missed call from Jim. I knew there is a big chance I just got traded. I called him back, and he told me about it.â€
It was the first time in Faksa’s career that he’d changed teams, outside of a junior hockey trade from Kitchener to Sudbury, as he’d spent his entire time in the NHL with the Stars. But as he entered the final year of his contract with a $3.25 million cap hit, Dallas decided to move on.
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The Blues, meanwhile, needed a bottom-six center with Kevin Hayes traded to Pittsburgh and Oskar Sundqvist still recovering from knee surgery. They wanted to add more size to go with their speedy, newly acquired wingers. The 30-year-old, 6-foot-3, 225-pound Faksa fit the bill.
“I’ve been here for so long, so it will be a little bit weird from the start to get used to it,†Faksa said. “It’s the last year of my contract and I need to have a good season. I got traded to a really good team who’s got a good chance to make it to the playoffs again. It’s important for me to play playoffs, right? I’m happy about it.â€
Faksa is still in Dallas and will remain there through late August, when his wife, Dominika, is due with the couple’s second child.
When he was in Dallas, Faksa developed from a first-round pick in 2012 into a player who received Selke Trophy votes in four different seasons. That included a seventh-place finish in 2017-18. Across the last four seasons, Faksa is one of the best faceoff men in the NHL at 55.4%, which ranks 20th among the 168 forwards with at least 1,000 faceoffs.
While Faksa’s offensive production dipped to 19 points in 74 games, he scored the game-winning goal for Dallas in Game 7 of the first round against Vegas.
“I have lots of good memories, I met lots of good people,†Faksa said. “Obviously, the Stanley Cup Final in the bubble was probably one of the highlights. I would say the draft and the Stanley Cup Final, you know? Even first NHL game, first NHL goal. All the milestones I made here. My kid was born here. It’s lots of stuff through the 12 years.â€
Faksa is very familiar with the Blues, having played 31 games against ºüÀêÊÓƵ in his career, plus the two playoff series in 2016 and 2019 that the Blues won.
“I always remembered they were hard to play against, big defensemen, skating well,†Faksa said. “Through the years, in the same division as us, so we played lots of games against each other. They always had a good team, in the two playoff series we lost against them. For sure, it wasn’t fun to play against them, especially in ºüÀêÊÓƵ in that building there.â€
Faksa could fit in as the third-line center in ºüÀêÊÓƵ and should be a key cog on the penalty kill, particularly with faceoffs on the left side of the ice. There could even be a role open on the second power-play unit at the net front, a spot Faksa’s played in the past but not consistently since the 2020-21 season.
After he discussed his future with the Stars, did Faksa start looking at which teams he could be traded to?
“To be honest, I was trying to, but I had no idea because you never know what the team is going to do,†Faksa said. “The NHL is always so much surprises, so it’s like you never know what’s going to happen. Obviously, I was talking about it with my wife and she was asking me the same thing and we had no idea.â€
Faksa said he’s heard from some Blues teammates, including captain Brayden Schenn. He also has some history with Nathan Walker from their time playing in Czechia more than a decade ago.
“He actually speaks Czech as well, so he’s half Czech,†Faksa said with a laugh.
Faksa has also heard from ºüÀêÊÓƵ native Ben Bishop, who was Faksa’s teammate in Dallas and is a part of the Stars’ development staff now while living in ºüÀêÊÓƵ.
“He offered to show me around ºüÀêÊÓƵ and to be my guide there and show me good neighborhoods and stuff like that,†Faksa said. “It’s nice to know someone who I played with that lives there as well.â€
Blues sign Ryan Suter
There is another name to add to ºüÀêÊÓƵ’ depth chart on defense: Ryan Suter.
Suter, 39, was the oldest player in the NHL last season before he was bought out of the final year of his contract by the Stars. The deal with the Blues is for one year at the league minimum $775,000 but also includes performance bonuses up to $2.225 million.
Suter will earn $1.725 million in various games played bonuses and will earn $500,000 if he meets all games played benchmarks and the Blues make the playoffs, according to a source.
Suter is eligible for performance bonuses since he is at least 35 years old and he signed a one-year contract.
Last season, Suter had 17 points in 82 games while averaging 18:56 of ice time. It was the least that he’s played since his rookie season in 2005-06, when he averaged 17:21 a game.