2024 All-Star Goalie Secures Future with the Stars
A number of high-profile player contract extensions have been announced in the past couple of weeks with the 2024 NHL regular season having started. Only 11 days ago, star goalie Jeremy Swayman of the Boston Bruins finalized an eight-year contract extension, ending his contract battle with his organization. Now, the Dallas Stars are the latest team to guarantee its top goalie's long-term future. According to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman, goalie Jake Oettinger, 25, has agreed to an eight-year contract, worth $66 million with the Stars, which will keep him in the Lone Star State for the foreseeable future as one of the best goaltenders in the game. After losing in six games to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals last postseason, the Stars can now concentrate on having another successful regular season and hoping to break through and make it to the Stanley Cup Finals this season.
With a 4-0-0 record and eight points after just four games in the 2024–25 regular season, the Stars are off to a scorching start. Oettinger has maintained his supremacy in the crease going into his fifth season with the Stars. He has an unbeaten 3-0-0 record, a 1.63 goals-against average, a .948 save percentage, and a shutout. Since Oettinger joined the Stars in March 2019 to start his NHL career, he has been a dependable player for the team throughout his young career. Before this season, Oettinger showed he was a formidable force in the net, winning more than 30 games in each of his last three seasons with the Stars after securing his role as the team's starting goalie during the 2021–22 season.
Due to his persistent domination last season, Oettinger was selected for his first-ever All-Star Game. He finished with a 35-14-0 record, a 2.72 goals-against average, a .905 save percentage, and three shutouts. Oettinger's consistency has allowed the Stars to make three straight postseason trips and advance to the Western Conference Finals in 2023 and 2024. General manager Jim Nill of the Stars issued a statement after Oettinger's extension was announced, highlighting the importance of the signing stating, "Jake has established himself as one of the elite goaltenders in the NHL," Nill said, "His unique blend of poise, size, athleticism, and mental toughness has helped our team reach new heights since he's taken over the net."
