THN's off-season outlook on the Dallas Stars continues with this look at the team's goaltending picture. And although Stars GM Jim Nill made significant changes to his team's netminding depth chart, Adam Proteau says Dallas will continue to depend on star goalie Jake Oettinger to be the chief needle-mover between the pipes.
We’re slowly making our way through the NHL’s 2024 off-season, and THN.com continues to explore the roster changes made by the Dallas Stars. We began the evaluation process by breaking down the alterations Stars GM Jim Nill made to his group of blueliners; then, this past week, we focused on the Stars’ forwards. Today, we’re finishing the series off by analyzing Dallas’ goaltending. (And all financial data comes via THN.com’s brand new Roster and Salary Cap page, THN Lineups).
RETURNING STARS GOALTENDER: Jake Oettinger
EXITING STARS GOALTENDERS: Scott Wedgewood; Matt Murray
NEW STARS GOALTENDER: Casey DeSmith
THE LOWDOWN: Dallas’ depth chart has just two goalies with NHL experience, but one of them happens to be the excellent Oettinger, who posted a 2.72 goals-against average and a .905 save percentage – the least-impressive numbers of his four-year NHL career, but still solid enough to generate a 35-14-4 record. And the 25-year-old American continues to be a terrific bargain for his $5-million salary cap hit. Oettinger will get a sizeable raise when he becomes a restricted free agent at the end of the 2024-25 campaign, but Nill will have no qualms about putting him into the $8-9-million per season stratosphere when it’s time to get Oettinger’s signature on a new contract.
Oettinger no longer will have capable backup Wedgewood to serve as his understudy, as Wedgewood departed for the Nashville Predators on a two-year, $3-million contract. And Murray, who was third on Dallas’ depth chart while playing most of the season in the American League, also joined the Preds on a one-year deal.
Replacing Wedgewood is journeyman DeSmith, who spent last season with the Vancouver Canucks after playing the entirety of his previous five seasons with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 32-year-old DeSmith had a slightly sub-par regular season with the Canucks, amassing a 12-9-6 record, a 2.89 G.A.A. and a .895 SP. However, when he was called into action in the 2024 playoffs (and before an injury ended his season), DeSmith had a 2.02 G.A.A. and .911 SP in two games. Not Vezina Trophy-caliber numbers, but not bad numbers, either.
DeSmith joins the Stars on a three-year, $3-million contract – not so high a cost that he couldn’t be waived or sent down if he doesn’t perform up to expectations. But DeSmith will be playing behind the best group of defensemen of his NHL career in Dallas, and clearly, Nill believes he can come in and support Oettinger by playing somewhere in the area of 30 games.
DeSmith’s current career high in single-season appearances is 38 games (in 2022-23), so he’s capable of giving the Stars what they’re looking for. But ultimately, this is Oettinger’s team, and Oettinger has every motivation – competitively-speaking and financially-speaking – to be the difference-maker for Dallas this coming season. And all-in-all, the Stars are going to be one of the best-balanced teams on the planet.
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