Will heart of Stars defense keep beating without longtime partner?

Esa Lindell

Performance evaluation

Lindell is the heart of the Stars' defensive game. The burly defenseman plays against the best players on the opposition and takes a lot of hard minutes.
Since joining the league, Lindell is fifth in short-handed minutes at 1,195 and is seen as one of the league's most consistent penalty killers. That said, he saw his overall time on ice drop to 22:03 last season (fourth on the Stars), which is down two minutes a game from the 24:20 he played just three years earlier.
Lindell continues to help offensively with 25 points (four goals, 21 assists) in 76 games. He led the Stars in blocked shots at 143, but was just sixth in hits at 111.

Expectations for 2022-23

The biggest challenge for Lindell this season will be that he will not have his normal defensive partner John Klingberg by his side. That could actually be a good thing, as it will allow Lindell to stretch his offensive legs and also see what he can do with a new partner. Could he be the perfect complement to Miro Heiskanen? That makes sense. Could he and Jani Hakanpää form a great shutdown pair? That's also a possibility.
One area where Lindell could get a great opportunity is on the power play. He saw his man-advantage time last season cut from a little over a minute a game to 26 seconds. While Thomas Harley and Colin Miller will be in the battle for power-play minutes, Lindell could get a real chance (especially if he's playing beside Heiskanen on a regular basis). He tallied 11 goals and 21 assists back in 2018-19, so the potential is there to do more, it seems.
This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.
Mike Heikais a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.

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