Living the dream: How a workhorse mentality turned Esa Lindell into a Stars cornerstone

The sports world is chock-full of flair. Highlight reel slam dunks, moonshot home runs, touchdown celebrations and slick dekes dominate the SportsCenter Top 10 on a nightly basis and have fans eagerly anticipating what the world’s best athletes might have in store.

But while they grab the headlines and spotlights, there’s another group grinding on the fringes to help will their teams to victory. They’re the blue collar, “roll up your sleeves” type of athlete. The ones that don’t mind doing the dirty, less glamorous work in order to get the job done.

There may not be a better poster child for that group than Esa Lindell. Whether it’s laying down in the line of fire to block a shot, fighting for a loose puck in the corner, or breaking up an odd-man rush to perfection, he’s well-known for doing the little things that go a long way.

“I’ve always personally wanted to be under the radar,” Lindell said. “I don’t want to be in the spotlight or in the media. I just try to work hard and want to be out there, especially when the game is on the line. Blocking shots, boxing out, and playing hard and physical to frustrate the opponent. If they hate to play against me, I know I’ve done something right.”

It’s a trait that Lindell has boasted since his NHL debut with the Stars on January 19, 2016. After a 2014-15 campaign in Liiga (Finland’s top league) that saw Lindell post 14 goals and 35 points (both league-highs among defensemen) and win the Pekka Rautakallio Award as the league’s best defenseman, the 2012 third-round pick made his way to North America to begin his professional hockey career. Following a 14-goal, 42-point effort in his first full season with the Texas Stars (AHL), Lindell got the call-up to Dallas.

Fast forward nine seasons and he’s currently the third-longest tenured member of the team behind only Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. And through 631 games, over 1,000 blocked shots and a triple-digit rating on the plus-minus scale, Lindell can’t help but look back and smile (as he’s well-known for doing) at how he got here.

“It’s crazy how time flies, but in a good way,” Lindell said. “I try to enjoy it every day. It might sound silly, but when I was younger, I remember Mikko Koivu said during a tournament to enjoy the time, and your career goes by quicker than you think. It actually is that way because I’m 30 now. I’m just taking nothing for granted and work hard every day. Many years have gone by and I’ve enjoyed them, and there’s many years ahead. I’m just living the dream.”

That’s a pretty good way of putting it.

Since joining the Stars full-time at the start of the 2016-17 season, he’s been a mainstay on the Dallas blue line. To put it into perspective, Lindell has played the second-most games of any NHL defenseman for one team over the span with 627. Only Jaccob Slavin in Carolina boasts more with 629. That includes missing just six games in the past seven seasons for a 98.8 percent attendance rate in the lineup.

The 30-year-old has served under five different coaching staffs and played a valuable role in each one’s outlook. That includes Pete DeBoer’s current staff and Alain Nasreddine, who oversees the team’s defense.

“I think the first word that comes to mind is ‘underrated’ with all that he brings to the game,” Nasreddine said of Lindell. “He’s not a flashy defenseman, but you get to appreciate what he does every night when you do coach him. I think the biggest thing is that he does everything right. Whether it’s within our structure, or everything we ask or want to do, it’s consistent.”

Consistency might be his strongest and most prevalent trait, and that says a lot.

Lindell’s plus-111 career rating currently sits as the third best mark in franchise history. Much like the Stars’ famous Finn in Jere Lehtinen, he’s a defensive ‘Mr. Fix-It.’ Lindell is not only a steadying presence in the Stars’ back end, but he often finds a way to cover up other issues that may arise. As Nasreddine so eloquently summarizes it, “Every time he’s on the ice, you know you’re doing pretty good.”

“He’s got a high hockey IQ just knowing what the next play will be,” the Stars assistant coach said. “You can see how many plays he disrupts or kills. Some of that stuff you can’t really teach, but he’s really a stabilizing force in the back end for us.”

Since the start of the 2016-17 season, Lindell has averaged 2:59 of shorthanded time on ice per game. That’s the second highest total among active players. He’s been the anchor for one of the League’s best penalty killing units over the last nine years, constantly minimizing damage from opposing power plays. He has also mixed in 1,145 blocks, the 11^th most in the NHL over the span.

Again, it’s the little things that usually go unmentioned, but every team needs in their lineup. Some nights, it’s skating 23:06 in Utah and staying on the ice for the final three minutes to secure a one-goal lead. On others, it’s posting two assists and a plus-4 rating in a drubbing in Pittsburgh.

There’s also the occasional offensive spark, like on Sunday when Lindell joined the rush and sifted the puck through two Flames defensemen to Roope Hintz to notch the game-winning goal in the third period. Even with his role largely centering around being a shutdown defenseman, the scoring touch isn’t lost on no. 23.

“Everyone likes to play offense and play with the puck,” Lindell said. “It’s more fun than the defensive zone when you’re grinding and battling, even though I enjoy that a lot, too. It’s always fun to get points and score in this League. It puts a big smile on your face. I’m just trying to help out in any way possible. Sometimes it’s in the offensive zone and maybe a little more often in the defensive zone. Just do your best and chip in any way you can.”

He’s certainly followed that mantra with two goals and 10 points in the past 19 games. It’s gone towards a career resume that includes 51 goals and 201 points in 631 games, all of which are top 10 marks by a defenseman in Dallas Stars history.

It’s all contributed to Lindell earning two long-term contracts with Dallas, including a five-year deal that he signed back in September. The extension will keep Lindell in Dallas through the 2029-30 season, when he will be 36 years old and likely well past the 1,000-game mark.

“It was great how quickly it worked out,” Lindell said of the extension. “Before the season started, I wasn’t really stressing about it and was confident it would get worked out at some point. Dallas is a second home and maybe that kind of helps the picture with how me and my family felt about it. I don’t have anything to compare, but I think everything is run really well from top to bottom. Everything is so great in Dallas from the team to the organization and teammates. I just enjoy it so much.”

It’s been a whirlwind of a few months for Lindell. In November, he along with Finnish teammates Miro Heiskanen and Hintz made a trip to Finland with the rest of their team to play a two-game set against the Florida Panthers in front of friends and family. Lindell posted a goal and an assist in the two games.

“The Finland trip was a dream come true for myself personally,” he said. “To be able to play there and show the country to my teammates and organization and what hockey means in Finland was great.”

It was yet another chapter in the Stars’ longstanding Finnish connection. A total of 31 Finns have donned a Stars sweater all-time, the most of any team in NHL history.

“It’s huge,” Lindell said of the Finnish roots within the organization. “There’s been plenty of Finns playing for this team. I think Jere led the way and started it back in the day. I feel like we’ve always had a lot of European players overall.”

Back in June, he was named to the Team Finland roster for the NHL’s inaugural 4 Nations Face-Off along with Heiskanen. Hintz, the Stars’ third and final Finn, was named to the team last week to complete the set.

“Now this national team is the same dream come true to represent your country and see how well you can play against the best,” Lindell said. “I would say living the dream in those things as well.”

That’s a lot of dreams to live in a short period of time, but when you have the proper work ethic and bring it to the ice every day (along with a big smile), good things usually follow.

Whenever he’s needed, wherever he’s needed, and whoever he needs to play with, Lindell always finds a way to make it work and lift the rest of the team up along with him.

That’s the kind of player any team would be lucky to have as a cornerstone.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Josh Clark is a writer for DallasStars.com. Follow him on X @Josh_Clark02.