Monday Morning Ramblings: Oettinger / Varlamov End Season On A High, Brossoit Best Backup And More!

Good morning everyone and welcome to what will be my final edition of the Monday Morning Ramblings until the fall. This week, I’ll be taking a look at a couple netminders who ended their respective seasons on a heater, while also giving a little love to a couple of backups who each enjoyed a very solid season.

Oettinger Peaking At the Right Time

The Dallas Stars have got to be feeling pretty good about themselves right now. You’re the number one seed in the Western conference, the Central Division champion and on top of it all you have the hottest goaltender heading into this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs in Jake Oettinger.

In truth it has been a bit of an underwhelming season when compared to the lofty expectations that many have put on the young goaltender. The 25-year old enjoyed a solid if unspectacular year finishing with a record of 35-14-4 combined with a 2.72 goals against and .905 save percentage in addition to three shutouts. All that being said, the reason for the organization’s overflowing confidence in it’s starting netminder is in how Oettinger concluded the 2023-2024 regular season.

Over the last month of the season, Oettinger was otherworldly as he fashioned a sparkling record of 9-1 while posting a ridiculous 1.49 goals against and a .943 save percentage with two of the aforementioned three shutouts during the season’s final month. Suffice to say that the Stars are getting peak performance out of Oettinger at the most crucial time of the year as the team begins postseason play.

Many pundits have the Dallas Stars making a deep run in this year's playoffs, myself included. However, this team is going nowhere without the exceptional play of its starting netminder regardless of how deep a team it is. This will be a phenomenal test for the Stars as well as Oettinger with a greater sense of expectation and pressure put on them due in part to the season this group just had and where they find themselves in their contention cycle.

Varlamov Usurps Sorokin In Islanders Crease

Whether it be due to their past relationship while in Colorado or just simply their familiarity with each other, Semyon Varlamov always seems to come up big for coach Patrick Roy and at the present moment looks to be doing it again with his recent play. The transition from Varlamov to Sorokin may be in full effect but if we are all being honest with ourselves here, the veteran has certainly outplayed the incumbent Sorokin as the numbers would suggest.

Over the course of the 2023-2024 NHL season, Sorokin definitely fell short of expectations finishing the year with a pedestrian record of 25-19-12 accompanied by a bloated 3.01 goals against and underwhelming .909 save percentage from what was surely one of the first three goaltenders taken in fantasy drafts last fall. Varlamov on the other hand, had a decent run of play this year as the team's backup goaltender posting a very respectable 14-8-4 record to go along with a 2.60 goals against and solid .918 save percentage.

If that wasn’t enough to fuel a bit of a goaltending controversy heading into this year’s postseason, Varlamov doubled down on his excellent play with a stingy final month of the season as he took over the Isles crease with some phenomenal play going 7-1 with a 2.00 goals against and .936 save percentage with one shutout.

That recent run of play secured both the team’s spot in this year's Stanley Cup playoffs but also Varlamov’s spot as the team’s starting goaltender for Game 1 of the postseason. It just goes to show you how volatile the goaltending position can truly be with many head coaches leaning toward the hot hand when it matters most and the chips are down.

Brossoit Best Amongst Backups

A lot of ink has been spilled in regard to the phenomenal season of one Connor Hellebuyck and rightfully so. However, you cannot skirt over the importance of Winnipeg Jets backup goaltender Laurent Brossoit as he has quietly gone about fashioning the best season of his career. After spending a couple seasons with the Vegas Golden Knights and winning it all with last year's team he went back to his roots and signed with the Jets to come back to where it all started.

The Jets could not have been any happier with that decision as he put together quite the stat line in his return to the ‘Peg this season, going 15-5-2 with an exceptional 2.00 goals against and solid .927 save percentage to go along with three shutouts, making him one of the league's best and most reliable backups. Winnipeg has leaned on Hellebuyck quite a bit over the years with a heavy workload and to be able to turn to Brossoit with confidence certainly makes a big difference in keeping Hellebuyck fresh for the postseason.

Brossoit saved his best for last and rewarded Winnipeg with a solid end to his campaign going, 3-0 with a sparkling 1.71 goals against and .929 save percentage over the final month of the 2023-2024 season. A UFA this upcoming summer, it would be wise for the Jets to resign him and keep this amazing tandem in place to yet again wreak havoc over the Central Division and by extension the entire NHL.

Big Save Dave

David Rittich has had his share of ups and downs to be sure but this season would certainly be considered a high for the veteran netminder. After being called up to the Los Angeles Kings in mid December, Rittich put together the best statistical season of his eight-year career with a 13-6-3 record accompanied by a 2.15 goals against and tidy .921 save percentage.

The Kings were certainly thankful for Rittich's solid play as right before Christmas, starter Cam Talbot would begin what would turn out to be an almost two month long odyssey into mid-level play before righting the ship in late February. However, for a brief moment, David Rittich was the Kings best option in goal as from late January to mid March, Big Save Dave owned the Kings crease to the tune of a 6-3 record with a very respectable 2.22 goals against and .918 save percentage while the aforementioned Talbot found his footing.

The Los Angeles Kings crease will be wide open at season’s end as the club does not have a goaltender on the current roster signed past this year. With that being said, it would be conceivable to see this current tandem return to the club for next season just as much as one could see the Kings bring in a completely different set of goaltenders for the 2024-2025 NHL regular season.

Either way, Rittich has probably played himself into another NHL contract for next season as a mid-level starter to reliable backup and could be quite serviceable for spot starts or possible injury replacement going into next year, however, much will depend on his next landing spot with Los Angeles likely being the best situation due to their defensive style of play.

Be sure to download the The Goalie Post app for daily goalie updates and information during the Stanley Cup Playoffs!

Thank you all for reading over the past three months, it has been an absolute pleasure interacting with you all and enjoying all the different points of view of fantasy managers far and wide. I hope that I have been able to give you a little insight and analysis as it pertains to both fantasy hockey as well as NHL goaltenders with a few of my own personal thoughts thrown into the mix.

As always, please feel free to follow me on X @mikeouellet9

I wish you all an amazing summer!

See you again this Fall!