Blues acquire forwards Faksa, Joseph in separate trades for future considerations

The St. Louis Blues acquired forwards Radek Faksa from Dallas and Mathieu Joseph from Ottawa on Tuesday in a pair of trades for future considerations.

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.

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.

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 recorded 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 last year, Faksa dressed for just eight of the 19 this season, scoring a goal for his only post-season point in 2024. Dallas lost to Vegas in 2023 and Edmonton this year.

Faksa recorded 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.”

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.

___

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

The Associated Press