Stan Bowman's Worst Mess Up in Blackhawks History?

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Sam Walker
May 2, 2023 (2:43 PM)

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The Dallas Stars are set to take on the Seattle Kraken in their second-round playoff series tonight at home in Dallas. While the team has a strong lineup, goaltender Jake Oettinger proved to be their standout player in the first round, particularly in their series against the Minnesota Wild where he put in a magnificent performance.

Oettinger spent three years playing for Boston University before turning pro, and has been a reliable presence for the Stars for three years now. In the most recent season, he featured in 62 games with a .919 save percentage and a 2.34 goals against average, cementing his place as one of the NHL's top-tier netminders.

«I thought it was going to be Chicago honestly before they traded it,» he said. «I had a great relationship with their minor league goalie coach and he was saying �I'm going to do everything I can to have us pick you.' But when Dallas traded up for me I mean it was the perfect spot.»

Interestingly, Oettinger could have ended up with the Chicago Blackhawks instead of the Stars. He was the 26th pick in the 2017 NHL Draft and the Blackhawks owned that pick, but Dallas wanted him and the two teams eventually made a trade, with Chicago moving down to 29 and selecting defenseman Henri Jokiharju. Despite the trade, Oettinger shared in an interview that he believed the Blackhawks would take him at 26.