Between the lake and the tollway, Stars fandom often sounds like goaltending talk dressed up as roster talk.
Jake Oettinger is the reason. NHL.com's Tracey Myers wrote that Dallas's path back to contention still runs through a goaltender who has started 53 or more games in each of the past four seasons. The Stars open the 2026-27 regular season Friday, Oct. 2, against the St. Louis Blues at American Airlines Center - 7:00 p.m.
CT, per Yahoo Sports' account of the team announcement - with the NHL's league-wide opening night falling on Sept. 29.
Myers framed Oettinger's regular-season consistency as something that "needs to remain," not something the club can casually replace while chasing a Cup drought that dates to 1999.
The supporting cast in net
Casey DeSmith enters the final season of a three-year, $3 million contract signed July 1, 2024, Myers reported. Remi Poirier, 24, went 27-19-6 with a 2.61 goals-against average and .912 save percentage in 52 AHL games with the Texas Stars last season, plus two shutouts.
Myers cast Poirier as a candidate who may need NHL looks depending on health - "no time like the present," she wrote.
That depth chart matters on a schedule that includes 13 back-to-back sets, starting with Oct. 2 vs. St. Louis and Oct. 3 at Nashville, according to the Stars' July schedule release.
What the skaters owe the goaltender
Last season's team defense finished second in goals-against per game at 2.71, Myers noted, with a top-end power play at 28.6%. Jason Robertson's 96-point season and a returning core around Wyatt Johnston, Mikko Rantanen, and Miro Heiskanen give Oettinger run support that many starters lack. The first-round exit against Minnesota still hangs over the room, as Myers and NHL.com's 32-in-32 coverage both recounted.
Glen Gulutzan's second season will be judged on whether that shell plus Oettinger's volume finally survives May and June. October is for establishing the same boring excellence that produced 50 wins.
