Esa Lindell (born 23 May 1994) is a Finnish professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

and

alternate captain In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...

for the

Dallas Stars The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. The Stars compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. The Stars ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL). He was selected by the Stars in the third round, 74th overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Lindell made his

SM-liiga The Liiga, colloquially called the Finnish Elite League in English or FM-ligan in Swedish, is the top professional ice hockey league in Finland. The league comprises 16 teams from all around Finland with relegation and promotion between the Mest ...

debut playing with

Jokerit Helsingin Jokerit (, English: Joker (playing card), Jokers or Jesters of Helsinki) is a professional ice hockey team based in Helsinki, Finland, which competes in Mestis. Jokerit plays its home games at the Helsinki Ice Hall and Helsinki Halli in ...

during the 2012–13 season. On 7 May 2014, he signed a three-year, entry-level contract with the

, the organization that had drafted him in the third round, 74th overall, of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft. Lindell was reassigned to the Liiga for the 2014–15 season, joining

Ässät Ässät or Ässä may refer to: *HC Ässät Pori Oy, Finnish sports club **Porin Ässät (men's ice hockey) **Porin Ässät (women's ice hockey) **Porin Ässät (men's football) **PATA (esports) *, Finnish band from Oulu *S Group, Finnish Consumer ...

. He established a career-high year, registering 14 goals and 35 points in 57 games with the club, which led all Liiga defencemen in scoring, before on 16 March 2015 he was assigned by Dallas to the organization's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...

(AHL) affiliate, the

Texas Stars The Texas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Cedar Park, Texas. They are the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Dallas Stars. They play their homes games at the H-E-B Center. History In ...

. On 18 January 2016, Lindell received his first NHL call-up. He made his debut the following day on 19 January in Dallas' game against the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

. On 25 November, in his 17th career NHL game, Lindell scored his first NHL goal, coming in a 2–1 win against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...

. In June 2017, Lindell signed a two-year, $4.4 million contract extension with Dallas worth an annual salary cap hit of $2.2 million. On 16 May 2019, Lindell signed a six-year, $34.8 million contract extension with the Stars, carrying an annual cap hit of $5.8 million. In February 2020, Lindell was made an

along with teammate

Blake Comeau Blake Comeau (born February 18, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey right winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the second round, 47th overall, by the New York Islanders at the 2004 NHL Entry D ...

. Lindell and

Tyler Seguin Tyler Paul Seguin ( ; born January 31, 1992) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and alternate captain for the Dallas Stars of the National Hockey League (NHL). Growing up in Whitby, Ontario, Seguin began playing hockey in a house leag ...

served as alternate captains during home games, while Comeau and

John Klingberg John Andersson Klingberg (born 14 August 1992) is a Swedish professional ice hockey defenceman for the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was drafted 131st overall in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars. He is the y ...

served as alternate captains during road games. On September 19, 2024, Lindell signed a five-year, $26.25 million extension with the Stars, carrying an annual cap hit of $5.25 million.

Personal life

Lindell joined the ownership group of Jokerit Helsinki in 2023, following the club's departure from the

Kontinental Hockey League The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; ) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs based in Russia (20), Belarus (1), Kazakhstan (1), and China (1) for a total of 23 clubs. It was considered in ...

(KHL) in 2022 and the subsequent restructuring of its operating company. The group includes Jokerit ry and a number of players with ties to the team, including Ossi Väänänen and

Teuvo Teräväinen Teuvo Henri Matias Teräväinen (; born 11 September 1994) is a Finnish professional ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected in the first round, 18th overall, of the ...

, among others.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindell, Esa 1994 births Living people Porin Ässät (men's ice hockey) players Dallas Stars draft picks Dallas Stars players Finnish expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Finnish ice hockey defencemen 21st-century Finnish sportsmen Ice hockey people from Helsinki Jokerit players Kiekko-Vantaa players Texas Stars players 4 Nations Face-Off players