Stars’ Oettinger on 2025-26 season: ‘I don’t feel like I accomplished any of my goals’
Despite another strong season, the top masked man in Texas heads into the summer with an empty feeling.
“I don’t feel like I accomplished any of my goals,” Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger told the media at the team’s end-of-season media availability.
Oettinger was looking back at what was a pretty positive season, going 35-12-6 in 54 starts, helping the Stars finish the regular season with the third-best record in the NHL. However, it didn’t lead to any success in the postseason. Dallas was eliminated in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs by the rival Minnesota Wild. The 27-year-old allowed at least three goals in all but one of the six games in the series, losing his last three starts. He had a 2.83 goals-against average and a .893 save percentage against the Wild.
The end of the campaign wasn’t what Oettinger had in mind. Not to mention the fact that his performance during the regular season was far from enough to be considered for the Vezina Trophy. On top of that, he played second fiddle to Connor Hellebuyck at the 2026 Winter Olympics, as Team USA went on to win the gold medal for the first time since 1980.
“I want to win a Stanley Cup. I want to win the Vezina trophy, and I want to be a starting goalie for Team USA at the Olympics…and none of those three things happened.”
Oettinger recognized that it’s important to have great aspirations to have a way to stay motivated, but he has some work to do to achieve them.
“I think it’s important to set big goals for yourself, and, obviously, those are three really hard things to do, but I think I can do it. I think, when I look back at the season, I think I’m proud of the regular season I had…I think, for the majority of it, I helped the team win and made a difference, but I think like there’s another level that I can get to, and I have a lot of things I need to look at that I need to change and get better at if I want to achieve those goals and help this team win.”
Even though Oettinger didn’t meet his goals, he still has the confidence in himself to reach the level as one of the top netminders in the NHL.
“I think what excites me about it is that I know I can do it. I’m not asking myself something that I can’t do…[people]around me that support me and help me. So, luckily for me, I have unreal coaches and great family that all want to help me do that. They believe that I can do it.”