Dallas Stars head coach Pete DeBoer told reporters he hasn’t spoken to all-star goalie Jake Oettinger since pulling him early in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final — a revelation that left TSN Hockey analyst and former NHL goaltender Martin Biron puzzled.
The 26-year-old Oettinger opened the playoffs on a strong note but struggled against the Oilers, fading as the series wore on. His postseason came to a sudden end in Game 5, when he surrendered goals on the first two shots in a 6–3 loss that knocked the Stars out. DeBoer noted that the coaching staff discussed potentially sitting Oettinger for Game 4 of the Western Conference Final, citing his heavy playoff workload and the fact that he was dealing with an “upper-respiratory thing.” Despite all of this, Baron still finds it strange that DeBoer didn’t seek to discuss the situation with his star goaltender.
“My first reaction is that it’s mind-boggling. I get that you’re not going to talk to him Thursday night after the game. And Friday, no one is in the office. But Saturday morning, you know you’re going to talk to the media. So, you need to have that conversation and clear the air. Then you can address the media. I don’t know what they were thinking. And I think this is on Pete DeBoer and the organization. Jake Oettinger isn’t going to knock on the door and ask to talk. Imagine if Scott Arniel doesn’t go and talk to Connor Hellebuyck in this type of situation. Or if Jon Cooper doesn’t go and talk to Andrei Vasilevskiy in a situation like this. That would never happen,” Biron said.
For his part, Oettinger told reporters Saturday that while he was surprised to be pulled so early in Game 5, he understood the decision, noting that if he had made a save on either of the first two shots, he likely would have stayed in the game. Oettinger, who noted the illness he was dealing with didn’t hinder his performance, said he will use the setback as a learning opportunity and even joked about how often he was shown on the jumbotron after being pulled. “I don’t know why they kept showing me. I hadn’t even moved in like 30 minutes,” he joked.
He would go on to add, “It sucks. It’s embarrassing. Any time you get pulled, whether it’s the playoffs or regular season, you just want to get off the ice and crawl under your bed and not talk to anyone. But especially in a moment like that, it’s embarrassing.”
When asked directly whether he had any concerns about his relationship with DeBoer moving forward, Oettinger again chose to focus on his own performance rather than address his dynamic with the coach.
“I think for me it’s just the whole experience is something I’m going to learn from, and it’s just going to help me grow and be a better person and a better goalie. My job is to stop the puck, and I feel like I’m one of the best in the world when I’m playing well. So that’s all I’m going to focus on. All the extra stuff is just extra stuff. If I go out there next year and I’m the best goalie in the world, then this stuff doesn’t matter. One of (the media) could be coaching, and it wouldn’t matter,” he said.
Oh no. Are they breaking up?
TMZ alert.
DeBoer has shown a great ability to have great regular seasons and then choke come playoff time. Maybe he should look in the mirror and stop throwing your franchise goalie under the bus. Oettinger didn’t play well at the end but the Stars offense went to sleep in the series against the Oilers. Nill is not going to trade Oettinger but if he did my Sabres should jump all over it but of course that’s not going to happen.
As a fellow Sabres fan, I could get behind that, however unlikely it might be. They haven’t had solid goaltending since Ryan Miller was traded away in 2014.
I respected your comment until you said Sabres
Bye bye DeBoer.
NILL will sit both down and they will be both ready to roll in September when camp opens..
lol.. I thought you were going to say trade DeBoer to Buffalo hahaha
Being a Sabres fan you do a lot of wishful thinking because our GM is a joke and Nill is excellent.
Can DeBoer explain why his team only scored 2 goals in their last 4 road playoff games or why they limped into the playoffs riding a 7 game losing streak?
Stars can do better.
DeBoer has thrown goalies under the bus before this. He wont get fired, they’d have already done it.
This sounds like some “sick league” NBA drama…