The Dallas Stars need a third goaltender that’s used to playing often. The Stars overused their starting goaltender, Jake Oettinger, especially during the 2022-23 NHL regular season. The Stars’ goalie carousel can be a topic to follow this summer. Here’s what you need to know.
According to a recent article by The Athletic, Dallas has two NHL goaltenders for next season set in stone, with Jake Oettinger as the starting goalie and Scott Wedgewood as the backup goalie.
Like the rest of us, Jake Oettinger can experience burnout at work. The big difference is that Oettinger guards the net, I write articles and columns, and you work your job — whatever that may be. That said, Oettinger’s “money” for the Stars when they need him the most, but they should manage his workload soon. Here’s why.
There’s Room for Growth in Jake Oettinger’s Case
Did you know? Jake Oettinger, also known as “Otter,” is the youngest No. 1 goaltender for the Stars since they moved to Dallas, Texas, in 1993 from Bloomington, Minnesota.
Yes, the Stars can gloat about Oettinger’s success, but some challenges come with being a first-year goalie playing an entire NHL season. Before playing in the NHL, Oettinger played three years of college hockey at Boston University from 2016 to 2019 and two partial seasons of minor league hockey for the Texas Stars from 2018 to 2020. He had to put his knowledge to good use, and he did. However, a learning curve exists in professional hockey — and he can benefit from learning something new every day.
Oettinger told NHL.com, “It was definitely a learning experience … I think I learned a lot about myself, but I had the time of my life.”
Oettinger put up impressive and not-so-impressive stats. The 24-year-old finished fourth in time on ice (TOI) at 3,644 minutes, finished seventh in goals against average (GAA) at 2.37, and tied for sixth in save percentage (SV%) at .919. However, his postseason stats weren’t as good as his GAA was 3.06 and SV% was .895. He can grow, but without a decent work-life balance, he can’t achieve much growth.
Jake Oettinger Can Only Do so Much
Jake Oettinger reportedly doesn’t shy away from expectations. Oettinger, who stands at 6’5″ and weighs 220 lbs, wasn’t a 2017 first-round draft pick at 26th overall for no reason. He was drafted by a good NHL team, the Dallas Stars, and wanted to help them win like the rap track “All I Do Is Win” by DJ Khaled.
Oettinger recently told the media that he wants to be like Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy and play 65 games, go on Stanley Cup playoff runs, and reset and restart year after year. Oettinger’s future is bright, and Stars head coach Pete DeBoer was impressed by the Boston University alum’s attitude at the exit interviews.
DeBoer told NHL.com, “I had my exit meeting with Jake Oettinger. It’s his first year starting. It’s his first year winning a playoff series, and he did it in Minnesota against his hometown team under some heavy pressure. It was the first time [he’s] won a Game 7 to help us move into the next round, which he did against Seattle … This guy is hungry. He wants to be the best. He wants to be the best in the world. He wants to win a Stanley Cup. That’s all he talks about. That’s music to a coach’s ear. What do you want me to do? What do you want me to work on? That’s his mindset. That’s fantastic.”
Oettinger is the Stars’ future in goaltending, but he can’t help his team if he doesn’t help himself first. He has to understand the work-rest balance as he suffered a lower-body injury and missed four starts early in the regular season. He returned to the ice, but his injury reportedly nagged him in the postseason. He, however, has plenty of time to get fully healthy this summer. His offseason has been off to a good start as he recently proposed to his long-term girlfriend, Kennedi Schumacher, a finance and marketing specialist based in Dallas, TX. The couple dated for four years before getting engaged.
Matt Murray Can Be Good Enough
Not to be confused with Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Matt Murray (born May 25, 1994), Texas Stars goalie Matt Murray (born February 2, 1998) can be good enough for the Dallas Stars. The latter can help the Stars achieve a trickle-down effect in the future.
There may or may not be high expectations in store, but I think Murray is a decent goalie that the Dallas Stars can rely on for short-term stints. The 25-year-old can help Oettinger reduce and maybe eliminate his back-to-back starts that caused his terrible slumps.
The “other” Matt Murray has been making a name for himself, despite being undrafted in the 2022 NHL Draft. Murray signed an amateur tryout contract and a two-year contract with the Texas Stars and entered the Texas Stars’ lineup, where he stopped 20 of 22 shots in his AHL debut at the H-E-B Center on April 13, 2022. Fast forward to March 2, 2023, when he stopped 19 of 21 shots in his NHL debut when the Dallas Stars visited the Chicago Blackhawks (and won 5-2) at the United Center.
Murray had a 2-1 record in three starts from 2022 to 2023. Murray’s most recent history might not sound like much, but most notably, the Stars admittedly put Oettinger in tough spots against the Vegas Golden Knights’ offensive onslaught in Game 6 of the 2023 Western Conference Finals — and Murray can be the better option in net, and make key saves in big moments.
