In the wake of the Dallas Stars five-game loss to the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Final, Stars head coach Pete DeBoer had a very blunt assessment of why he pulled goaltender Jake Oettinger early in the first period of the last game.
Half the reason, per DeBoer, was to spark the team. The Stars trailed 2-0 and needed something — anything — to rally around. The other half of the reason, DeBoer said, went beyond the fact that Edmonton scored on its first two shots of the game. DeBoer went on to indict Oettinger’s playoff performances the last couple years. This was especially true in elimination games. The coach said the status quo wasn’t working so he had to try something else. Backup goalie Casey DeSmith relieved the starter.
Damage control mode
DeBoer has practiced some damage control thereafter. Both he and Oettinger said their working relationship moving forward will be fine. The coach and the starting goalie haven’t spoken one-on-one so far.
“No one is a bigger fan of Jake Oettinger than me, as a person or a goalie,” DeBoer said.
Meanwhile, Oettinger added that he won’t have any issues moving on from the debacle.
“I’m going to learn from it and it’s going to help me grow and be a better person and better goalie,” Oettinger said.
DeBoer unlikely to be fired, Oettinger unlikely to be traded
With DeBoer having led to the Stars to three straight Western Conference Finals in as many seasons as Dallas’s head coach, he has some job security. Oettinger, meanwhile, has been a key part of the Stars’ success. He’s been a workhorse starter. Despite some inconsistency, the 26-year-old is among the better netminders in the NHL. Consequently, the player-coach relationship will probably continue into future seasons.
The Stars’ window to win the Stanley Cup is still open. The club has reached the Conference Final four times (including the 2020 Stanley Cup Final) four times in the last six years. Although there are a few aging players in the core, there’s still an avenue to take the final step. However, the Stars clearly have some adjustments to make to return to the Cup Final next season after three consecutive defeats in the Western Conference Final.
General manager Jim Nill did not enter the recent series with the Oilers intending for a goalie change to one of the adjustments. As such, it’s likely that the plan has not changed in that regard.
Prediction: This controversy will fade once the news cycle is over. Will it arise again in the playoffs next year? It will if the Stars — or Oettinger — stumbles in any of the first three rounds. If the Stars reach the 2026 Cup Final, it’ll either go away forever or become a massive debate all over again.
DeBoer opened a can of worms with his postgame comments after Game 5. There probably won’t be immediate ramifications. Future ones? That remains to be seen.
What Pete did to Jake was outlandish and incomprehensible. Is it broken? no, but it’s Pete’s job to fix it.