After feeling like he was irreplaceable, Radek Faksa will not return to the St. Louis Blues next season and instead, will be joining his former team, the Dallas Stars. This was transparent when the Blues signed former Utah center Nick Bjudstad, who will likely be his replacement.
The deal, three years at $2 million AAV, leaves a big hole at the fourth-line center spot. Assuming the Blues make another deal today for Mikael Granlund to become the second-line center, Bjudstad will replace Faksa.
Having missed out on bringing back their best face-off guy, the Blues are going to have a much different look to them next season. The blow of losing Faksa is not going to make or break the idea of another playoff run, but his return was a vital move that should have been made at the start of free agency.
The worst part of this deal is that Faksa is going back to a divison rival. It seems like every team made monumental moves today, but the Central Divison has made one of the best bunch of teams in hockey, better. Next season will showcase that.