DALLAS -- The Dallas Stars began their offseason activity after losing in the Stanley Cup Final by bringing back a reliable defender.
Dallas re-signed veteran defenseman Andrej Sekera to a $3 million, two-year contract Sunday that carries an annual salary cap hit of $1.5 million. The 34-year-old Slovak blocked 38 shots and had one assist in the postseason while playing third-pairing minutes for the Western Conference-champion Stars.
Sekera had eight points and blocked 75 shots in 57 regular-season games during his first year with Dallas.
''Andrej did an outstanding job coming in and immediately making a difference on our back end last season,’' general manager Jim Nill said. ''With his intelligence and experience, we look forward to Andrej continuing to play an impactful role in our defense corps.’'
Sekera gives the Stars an older, seasoned defensive player on the blue line that features 21-year-old Miro Heiskanen, John Klingberg, Esa Lindell and Jamie Oleksiak. The 6-foot, 195-pound defender has appeared in 764 regular-season NHL games over parts of 14 seasons with Buffalo, Carolina, Los Angeles, Edmonton and Dallas.