Blues extend Buchnevich with $48 million deal, acquire Faksa, Joseph in separate trades

The St. Louis Blues acquired Radek Faksa from Dallas and Mathieu Joseph from Ottawa on Tuesday in a pair of trades for future considerations and in a separate move signed Pavel Buchnevich to a long-term extension.

The deal with the Senators also netted the Blues a 2025 third-round draft pick. Joseph has two years left on his contract at an annual salary cap hit of $2.95 million, and Ottawa was looking to clear cap space to re-sign Shane Pinto, which it then did hours later on a two-year, $7.5 million deal.

Buchnevich signed for $48 million over six years, a contract that counts $8 million against the salary cap from when it begins in 2025-26 through the 2030-31 NHL season.

Buchnevich, 29, ranks second on the Blues with 83 goals and 123 assists over the past three seasons, putting up 206 points in 216 regular-season games.

Dallas captain Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin were the only players with longer current stints with the Stars than Faksa, a 30-year-old who spent his first nine seasons with the franchise that drafted him in the first round in 2012.

Faksa made his NHL debut during the 2015-16 season, and the native of the Czech Republic had 200 points (89 goals, 111 assists) in 683 games for the Stars.

The emergence of young forwards Wyatt Johnston in 2022-23 and Logan Stankoven this past season helped lead to a diminishing role for Faksa on a club that made consecutive trips to the Western Conference Final.

After playing in all 19 playoff games in 2022-23, Faksa dressed for just eight of the 19 this past season, scoring a goal for his only postseason point in 2024. Dallas lost to Vegas in 2023 and Edmonton this year.

Faksa had 19 points (seven goals, 12 assists) in 74 regular-season games this season. His best years were his first two full seasons in 2016-17 and 2017-18, when he scored 33 points each time.

“I want to thank Radek for everything he’s done for this organization,” general manager Jim Nill said. “He’s been a big part of our team for a long time.”

Joseph is coming off career highs in points (35) and assists (24) in his second full season with Ottawa. The 27-year-old’s career started in Tampa Bay, which drafted him in the fourth round in 2015.

Later Tuesday, Anaheim acquired defenseman Brian Dumoulin from Seattle for a 2026 fourth-round pick. Dumoulin, who turns 33 in September, has one year left on his contract at a cap hit of $3.15 million.

“We want to thank Brian for his contributions to the Kraken this past season,” Kraken general manager Ron Francis said. “He was an important part of our defensive core, and we are wishing him all the best in Anaheim.”

In other moves, Buffalo signed journeyman goaltender James Reimer to a one-year contract worth $1 million. Reimer figures to be in the Sabres’ mix in net with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and prospect Devon Levi.

Tampa Bay, which made its free agent splash by signing Jake Guentzel for $63 million while letting longtime captain Steven Stamkos leave for Nashville, is now in the bargain shopping business. The Lightning signed Cam Atkinson, recently bought out by Philadelphia, to a one-year contract worth $900,000.

The Minnesota Wild finalized a four-year, $17.4 million contract extension with defenseman Jake Middleton that begins next season with a $4.35 million annual average value. That puts four of the Wild’s top five defensemen under contract for at least the next two years. Brock Faber, the runner-up for the Calder Trophy last season, is eligible to become a restricted free agent next summer.

___

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl