Stars sign Heiskanen to 8-year, $67.6M extension

The Dallas Stars signed defenseman Miro Heiskanen to an eight-year contract with an average annual value of $8.45 million, the team announced Saturday.

Heiskanen, 21, racked up eight goals and 19 assists in 55 games this past season. The Stars selected him with the third overall pick in the 2017 NHL Draft.

"As an organization, we truly feel that Miro has just scratched the surface of his ability and will be in the Norris Trophy discussion for years to come," general manager Jim Nill said.

Miro Heiskanen is already one of the game's best defensive defencemen with plenty of offensive upside. He hasn't even hit his peak yet and should be well worth his new extension. pic.twitter.com/2qLmgdlatJ

- dom at the athletic (@domluszczyszyn) July 17, 2021

Heiskanen is now the sixth-highest paid defenseman in the NHL. He trails Alex Pietrangelo, P.K. Subban, Roman Josi, Drew Doughty, and Erik Karlsson in that regard.

During the Stars' run to the Stanley Cup Final last season, Heiskanen put together a historic campaign with 26 points in 27 games - the fourth-most by any blue-liner during a playoff year in league history. In 205 career regular-season games, he's managed 28 goals and 67 assists.

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