After making it all the way to a third consecutive Western Conference Finals, Jake Oettinger and the Dallas Stars bowed out in the worst possible fashion in 2024-25.
For the second year in a row, it was only the Edmonton Oilers who stood in their way of an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals. Yet once again, Dallas was handled rather easily by Edmonton, losing in a five-game gentleman's sweep that the Oilers seemed to have control of from start to finish.
Game 5 added salt into the wound for the Stars, getting embarrassed on home ice and seeing their star goalie pulled less than halfway into the first period en route to a 6-3 loss and ultimate elimination.
Not only was Oettinger pulled after allowing two goals on two shots, but he was then called out by his now former head coach, Pete DeBoer. That situation ultimately led to DeBoer's dismissal, and several months later, the veteran bench boss opened up about it all in a conversation with Mike Zeisberger of NHL.com.
"Listen, we were all to blame for coming up short again, and it starts with me. It was on me, it was on all the coaches, it was on all the players, it was on the organization as a whole. We all created the disappointment. We were all to blame, not just one guy," DeBoer said.
"When all the questions at the postgame press conference were about Jake, I should have redirected the topic to reflect that this wasn’t just about him; this was about all of us. We—and I stress the word 'we'—did not get the job done. We were on a run in which we’d lost six of our past seven games against Edmonton in the third round dating back to 2024. In one of my answers, I said he’d lost six of seven to them. But it wasn’t just him. It was all of us. That’s not on just one guy. I should have made that clearer," DeBoer added.
DeBoer discusses Oettinger fallout, time with Stars in sitdown with https://t.co/lf7CgbIdil ⤵️https://t.co/dYpVPBYwaM
— NHL.com (@NHLdotcom) September 14, 2025
The 26-year-old Oettinger went 1-3-0 with a 3.93 goals-against average and a .853 save percentage against the Oilers in their third-round series, certainly not up to his All-Star form.
Oettinger has moved past it
Now that all is said and done, Jake Oettinger has put everything in the rearview mirror and is looking forward to bouncing back next time he gets the opportunity.
He was extremely mature when speaking about the situation after the game and in his year-end media availability, and it was much of the same when he was asked about DeBoer's latest comments at the NHL Player Media Tour.
"I mean, I think I feel like he hit the nail on the head. I agree with what his reflection was. I’m glad he said what he said," Oettinger said.
Oettinger was already one of the best netminders in hockey; add a little extra motivation with the sour taste of how last season ended, and he could be in a Vezina-type 2025-26 campaign.