Despite being in the dog days of summer, the NHL off-season never rests. It may slow down a bit but there is always something happening behind the scenes. This means NHL rumours are always floating around. In this edition of NHL rumours, we examine the stalled contract talks between the Dallas Stars and goalie Jake Oettinger.
NHL Rumours: Contract Talks In Dallas Stall With Oettinger
Rumour: Contract talks between the Dallas Stars and goaltender Jake Oettinger have gone nowhere, according to Saad Yousuf of The Athletic.
The Stars are in an interesting situation. They have some important pieces left to sign, but huge contracts are eating up the necessary cap space. One of these players that has yet to sign is Goaltender Jake Oettinger, and talks haven’t gone too well.
Jake Oettinger has had a very impressive start to his NHL career. But now, things have taken a bit of a twist. Oettinger’s camp has failed to get pretty much anywhere on an agreement with Dallas, and it’s getting worse.
Oettinger recorded a 30-15-1 record as Dallas’s starter this season, with a 2.53 GAA, and a 0.914 save percentage. These stats are a bit down from last season, but that’s to be expected after taking over the starting role, making the jump from 26GP in 2020-2021 to 48 in 2021-2022.
Oettinger has spent his entire professional hockey career with the stars, signing with the organization after spending three years at Boston University.
What This Means
This is an embarrassing situation for Dallas. Oettinger has been the standout goalie for them and was pretty much the only reason that Dallas had a fighting chance against the Calgary Flames in the playoffs.
The fact that Oettinger could refuse to re-sign with the Stars over a situation like this is frustrating and is all too common in today’s NHL. Star forward Matthew Tkachuk was just traded over a very similar issue.
If they do lose Oettinger, they would have to rely on a tandem of Scott Wedgewood and Anton Khudobin. Although Wedgewood was solid, it’s a pretty major downgrade from a 23-year-old who put up great numbers and carried your team in the first round. For now, things aren’t looking too good. If they lose Otter, it’s not going to be pretty.
Sources: Contract talks between the Stars and Jake Oettinger’s camp have gone nowhere.
Breaking down factors causing the impasse, his perceived market value and, with training camp about a month away, where things go from here https://t.co/1mcyFcwPcR
— Saad Yousuf (@SaadYousuf126) August 5, 2022
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