It’s only 18 days until the Dallas Stars host their home opener on Oct. 12 versus the New York Islanders at the American Airlines Center. After falling short of the Stanley Cup Final for the second-straight season, the goal stays the same: make the playoffs, make a deep run, and Lord Stanley willing, bring home their second Stanley Cup trophy in franchise history. While that is always the goal for any NHL team, there is also pride in seeing individual players winning personal trophies as well. Regarding the Stars, one that has eluded them is the Vezina Trophy for the NHL’s top goalie. Since its 1967 inception when they were the Minnesota North Stars to Dallas as the Stars, the franchise has never seen one of its netminders win the award.
It’s surprising, especially after having legends Ed Belfour and Marty Turco between the pipes over the years. In the end, the Stars have not been able to secure the Vezina for one of their own. However, they did come close in 2022-23 when Jake Oettinger finished fifth in voting after receiving seven third-place votes and losing out to winner Linus Ullmark of the Boston Bruins. Despite falling short that season, there is a good chance the 25-year-old Lakeville, MN native will win the trophy in the near future.
Only Getting Better and Better for Otter
The netminder fans call “Otter” already has an impressive resume just four seasons into his NHL career. Oettinger has a career record of 113-48-23 in 193 games played. He also has a .913 save percentage (SV%) and a 2.51 goals-against average (GAA) since joining the league in 2020-21. During the 2023-24 season, he did see a drop off in both SV% (.905) and GAA (2.72) compared to the season before (2.37 GAA and .919 SV%). Granted, he did miss some time due to a lower-body injury. Overall, still a decent season, but one that he wished he had back. Oettinger has played in 116 games over the last two seasons, 62 and 54 respectively, so it’s no wonder he’s been doing most of the yeoman’s work for the Stars.
Related: Stars’ Netminder Jake Oettinger Rounding Back Into Form
Otter managed to have a 35-14-4 record last season while making the All-Star team. He is entering the last season of his three-year, $12 million deal that sees him becoming a restricted free agent at 26 years old. While he and the Stars will be figuring out a new deal during the season or even next summer, the main focus is to win a Stanley Cup and hopefully a Vezina…
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