Perspective is funny. You can say the Stars have fallen short of making the Stanley Cup Final for the second year. You can also mention the Stars made the Western Conference Final for two years. Both statements are facts. However, leaning into one perspective more might influence future decisions in a certain way.
This puts the Dallas Stars in the middle of a very crucial offseason. They have a “win now” mentality but not at the risk of the future. The future and youth of the Stars have become the main components of their success.
This summer, the Stars have RFAs to sign and UFAs to try and retain. The happy tandem of Jake Oettinger and Scott Wedgewood may or may not be a duo next year. But they should be.
The Stars and Scott Wedgewood are further apart in their negotiations than desired. As a person, Wedgewood seems to be a perfect fit in the Stars locker room. He’s a childhood friend of Tyler Seguin’s, cheers for Oettinger’s success, and Oettinger cheers for his success in return.
The relationship between Wedgewood and Oettinger is something special #TexasHockey
— Sam Nestler (@samnestler) June 27, 2024
Oettinger:
“He’s the best goalie partner I’ve ever had. Knowing that you have someone that has your back and wants you to genuinely do well. I really, really want to see him back.”
Having a backup goalie trusted by your franchise goaltender is a bonus, especially on a team that seems as tight-knit as the Stars.
During the 2023-24 season, Wedgewood won 16 of 28 games with a .899 save percentage. One can say those are some respectable numbers for a backup goaltender.
However, potential issues arise from the current state of negotiations. With Wedgewood wanting a bit of a raise but still wanting to stay in Dallas, Jim Nill has to try and slot that into the roster for next season. The Stars are seemingly moving on from Chris Tanev but trying to sign Matt Duchene, and until that’s done, it may be fair to assume a decent amount of cap space could be allocated there.
Additionally, Dallas needs to bring back RFA Thomas Harley on defense, but with Tanev in the rearview mirror, Nill will need to spend on a defenseman during free agency to shore up the defense. All of this cap talk leaves less room for a raise for a backup goalie.
Given Wedgewood’s good fit on the team, however, it would be prudent to bring him back if possible. The backup goalie market will be lackluster (especially within Nill’s price range). If both team and player can work together to find a reasonable deal, it will benefit the Stars for the immediate future.