Dallas Stars Goaltending: What It Looks Like Now

The Dallas Stars have been in a goaltending rut for the past decade or so. Though they seemed to level things out last offseason by taking a different route, they still fell short. Should changes be made?

Ben Bishop, Tuukka Rask, and Marc-Andre Fleury. These are just three of the starting goalies that the Dallas Stars are reportedly looking into, though Bishop is the only rumor with significant and legitimate substance.

Still, there are plenty of theories floating around as the free agency period slowly loses speed and transforms into the dog days of the NHL summer. Will the Stars go after a goaltender this offseason? Do they need to?

Let’s take a walk down memory lane. Since the beginning of the 2010-11 season, the Dallas Stars have used an astounding 11 different goalies. In other words, they have basically used a new combination every year, with Kari Lehtonen being the only consistent member.

When the Stars missed out on the postseason after the 14-15 year, general manager Jim Nill seemed determined to quit the goalie recycling strategy and finally put together a dominant crease. On the second day of the 2015 NHL entry draft, Dallas did just that by trading for the rights to starting goaltender Antti Niemi.

And thus, a two-goalie tandem was born just in time for the 2015-16 season. No one knew quite what to expect, probably because no other team had tried the strategy before. The Stars were taking two goaltenders that were used to playing 60+ games a season and basically cutting them down to 41 a piece.

Considering both were aging yet tenured veterans, there was suspicion that it could either go very well or very poorly.

In the end, it seems as though it went a little better than average. In other words, somewhere around a 7/10.

The regular season definitely tested the duo. Neither Lehtonen (.906 SV%, 2.76 GAA) or Niemi (.905 SV%, 2.67 GAA) finished the regular season with a save percentage higher than .910 or a goals against average lower than 2.65. But both goaltenders snagged 25 wins a piece to help lead Dallas to the top of the Central Division and Western Conference with 109 points.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs were a different story altogether. The Dallas Stars found a way to sneak by the Minnesota Wild in the first round with some fairly inconsistent play down the stretch. When they reached the Western Conference semifinals, they faced a St. Louis Blues team that thrived on defense, leveled out on offense, and excelled in goaltending. That ended up being what killed the Stars.

Niemi did not even participate in half of the games as he struggled through a rut, going 1-3-0 with a .865 save percentage and a 3.29 goals against average. Lehtonen tried to carry the entire weight for the first time since the 14-15 year, and it eventually caved in on him. He finished the playoffs 6-3-0 with a .899 save percentage and a 2.81 goals against average.

Considering how ugly game seven turned out to be (a 6-1 routing from St. Louis at the AAC), the only thing people had on their minds was making change in the crease once again.

At the 2016 draft, there was talk that the Dallas Stars had reached out to the Tampa Bay Lightning, trying to secure a trade for Ben Bishop. Nothing ever came out of the talks, though there is more than likely some sort of chatter still going on. Other names such as Fleury and Rask are floating around, though they are nothing more than fan-based rumors, at least as of now.

But at the moment, it looks like Nill is ready to take the Lehtonen/Niemi duo out for another spin in 2016-17. That is not necessarily a bad thing.

One of the biggest road blocks in the Bishop rumors (or any trade for a goaltender for that matter) is that the other team would need to take a goalie off the Stars’ hands. Only problem is that Dallas has $10.4 million sunk into their two goalies, more than any other goalie duo in the NHL. That’s not the most pleasant situation for another team to take on.

must read: Stars May Be Out Of Luck On Ben Bishop

But keeping this goalie duo is not the worst idea (far from it, in fact). Last season was the first year of a new experiment for both goalies, and they definitely went through an adjustment period. That should only be expected. The problem is, if the Stars spend a fifth straight offseason changing up their goaltending, it will only pave the way for another adjustment period. That could spell trouble.

Meanwhile, the Stars could enter the 2016-17 season with a goalie tandem that understands their new role and that of their capable Finnish partner. The two goalies work well in pushing each other to be better and giving advice learned from their many years in the league.

So the Dallas Stars look like they may continue rolling with the Lehtonen/Niemi group for next season. With the offense setting up to have another stellar year and the defense having the potential to be better than it has been in years, the goaltending could complete the Stanley Cup puzzle.

Next: Will The Stars' New Look On Defense Pay Off?

These two goalies do not have a whole lot left in them, but they have enough to make plenty of noise next year. We’ll see what they have planned.