Following a strong start to his 2024-25 campaign, Jake Oettinger put pen to paper on a long-term extension. He and the Dallas Stars agreed to an eight-year deal with an $8.25 million cap hit. While the contract won’t kick in until 2025-26, he is set to be the highest-paid active netminder behind only Sergei Bobrovsky, Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Connor Hellebuyck.
8x$8.25M for Oettinger https://t.co/YsPEZDhBnQ
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) October 17, 2024
Oettinger is now in his fifth season as a full-time goaltender for the Stars. Though he’s still just 25, the 2017 first-round pick has two Western Conference Final appearances and is a one-time All-Star. Including the postseason, he ranks eighth in the Stars’ franchise history for wins with 139—he could reasonably be fourth by season’s end, needing 24 more to obtain that milestone.
In his regular-season career, Oettinger has a .914 save percentage, 2.49 goals-against average, and 12.79 goals saved above expected in 196 appearances. A contender, Dallas needs only the best play between the pipes to have a chance to compete for the Stanley Cup. They’re coming off of back-to-back exits in the Western Conference Final, coming just two wins away from an opportunity to play in a winner-take-all bout for Lord Stanley. The Stars have not gone the distance since 1999.
Related: Dallas Stars’ Jersey History Ranked
With much of their core locked up for the future, Dallas’ window for a championship is very much alive. At the time of signing, they are one of four undefeated teams in the NHL (4-0-0), proving that they are still among the league’s best. Oettinger has his ups and downs, but he’ll be depended upon to take his team to the next level if they can punch their ticket to the postseason. There’s a reason he got paid as much as he did.
