Jake Oettinger and Stars agree to 8-year contract worth $66 million after deals with Swayman and Ullmark | News, scores, highlights, stats and rumors

The Dallas Stars have signed starting goaltender Jake Oettinger for another eight seasons.

The Stars and Oettinger agreed to an eight-year, $66 million extension on Thursday that will keep him with the team through the 2032-33 season.

His $8.25 million AAV matches the contracts recently given to the Boston Bruins’ Jeremy Swayman and the Ottawa Senators’ Linus Ullmark.

Oettinger was previously set to become a restricted free agent upon the expiration of his current three-year, $12 million deal in 2025.

The netminder, who turns 26 in December, is in his fifth season with the Stars after being selected in the first round of the 2017 draft by Boston University.

Oettinger became the Stars’ starting goaltender during the 2021-2022 season. Since then, he has racked up 30 wins and led his team to the playoffs in three consecutive seasons.

He played 54 games (53 starts) for the Stars in 2023-24, posting a .905 save percentage and 2.72 goals against average while helping Dallas finish the regular season at the top of the Central Division .

Oettinger capped off last season by helping the Stars to a second straight appearance in the Western Conference Finals. In the conference semifinals, he held the Colorado Avalanche to one goal in a 29-save dual win in Game 6 that sent the Stars to the third round.

The goalkeeper signed his contract after a strong start to the 2024/25 season. He has amassed a 3-0 record thus far with a .948 save percentage and one clean sheet.

He enters the new deal with an overall record of 116-48-23, including a career .914 save percentage and 11 career shutouts.

The contract should make Oettinger one of the five highest-paid goaltenders in the NHL in terms of average annual value starting next season.

Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning will earn an AAV of $9.5 million AAV, while Connor Hellebuyck of the Winnipeg Jets is in second place with an annual salary of $8.5 million. Oettinger will tie the former Bruins tandem of Saros and Ullmark and Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders for third place on the list.

The deal allows Stars to avoid any conflict over Oettinger’s next deal after watching the Bruins lose Swayman before the preseason amid contentious contract negotiations in Boston.

Instead, Dallas will be able to focus on returning to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2020. The team started the season as favorites for a deep play-off run, with Oettinger supporting a strong squad manned by young stars including Miro Heiskanen. , Jason Robertson and Wyatt Johnston and led by veterans such as Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin.