NHL.com reported on Friday that the Minnesota Wild have signed goaltender Jordan Oesterle to a one-year contract.
Oesterles new deal with the Wild will keep him in Minnesota through the 2018-19 season, per the team.
Ozerle was acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks in February of this year.
The 24-year-old is in his first full season in the NHL after signing a three-year entry level contract with the Blackhawks in 2014.
Osterle had a .920 save percentage, 10 shutouts and five shutouts in 44 games last season.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pound goaltender is currently in his second NHL season after signing with the New Jersey Devils in 2014 and had a 12-5-2 record with a 2.47 goals against average and a .931 save percentage.
The 20-year old also played for the AHL’s Bridgeport Sound Tigers in 2014-15.
Oesterle played a key role in the development of defenseman Mikael Granlund.
He was selected by the New York Rangers in the first round (No. 16 overall) of the 2014 NHL Draft and signed a two-year, $2.75 million contract extension on July 15, 2015.
Granlund also spent last season with the Providence Bruins of the AHL.
With Oesterling and Granlund, the Wild have six goaltenders under contract through next season.
Forward Adam Wilcox has signed a one year deal with Winnipeg.
The Wild have four goalies under contract: Jhonas Enroth, Sam Gagner, Braden Holtby and Matt O’Connor.
For the Minnesota native, the opportunity to join the Wild this season is his first in the professional ranks.
“I’ve always dreamed of playing in the National Hockey League, and the opportunity here with the Winnipeg Jets is really exciting for me and my family,” Oesterly said.
“I’m really excited about coming to the Winnipeg area and playing with the team that I grew up rooting for and watching.
After winning a championship here, the Jets organization has been really supportive of me and the organization and the players, and I’m just looking forward to this new chapter with the organization.”
With the NHL and NHLPA having reached an agreement to extend the season, it appears the Wild and their AHL affiliate will have the best of both worlds for Oesterl.
Minnesota currently sits third in the Western Conference with a 12th seed in the Metropolitan Division.
This is the second straight season the Wild has won a division title with Oesterls team.
The team had a record of 10-11-2 in 2016-17.
Following their playoff series win over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday, the Stars were the favorites to advance to the Western Final and take home the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.
It has been a roller coaster season for the Stars.
Despite losing forward Mark Giordano for the season with a broken leg in the second period of Game 7 of the Western Semi-Finals, the team still finished as the third seed in their division.
Forward Jamie Benn went on to score the game winning goal in Game 7, which sent the Stars to their third consecutive Western Semi Final.
As of this writing, the franchise is 9-12-1 overall and has lost four of its past five.
Injuries and suspensions have kept the Stars in the midst of a losing streak that has been well-documented.
While there have been plenty of injuries, the club has struggled in the faceoff circle.
Although the Stars have the fifth highest goal differential in the league, they rank ninth in the team’s defensive zone start percentage at minus-5.5%.
As a result, the goaltending has been critical to the team winning games.
Last season, the squad finished with a 41-31-4 record and won the Pacific Division for the third time in the last four years.
However, this season, they have dropped the last five games.
The Stars have a 3-13-1 record, with a 5-12 mark in the regular season.
