If Oleksiak has signed elsewhere, that also could influence a decision on whether or not they can afford Klingberg, thus the order in my mind is 1) Oleksiak, 2) Heiskanen, 3) Klingberg.
If Dobby [Anton Khudobin] isn't selected by Seattle in the expansion draft and Ben Bishop is 100% healthy next year, with three goalies do they look to trade one? -- @michigansta
Heika: I've gone all over the place in my mind on the goalie issue. My guess is Seattle doesn't take Khudobin. One, because I think a pretty nice forward will be left unprotected, and two, he didn't have a great season. Thus, I believe the Stars will have three goalies under contract during the summer. The question is do they continue that path?
Bishop is a great goalie. Since the Stars acquired him in 2017, he's second to Tuukka Rask among No. 1 goalies with a 2.33 goals-against average and first in save percentage at .923. That's high cotton, and if the Stars can get that player back in the crease, they automatically become a much better team.
Now, he'll turn 35 in November and he's battled injuries for more than a year, so that does give you a "but…" moment, which is why I'm vacillating.
If I had to venture a guess, I think the safest strategy for the Stars would be to bring all three goalies to camp, see how healthy Bishop is and then react accordingly. While it wouldn't be ideal to send Oettinger to the minors, it could be a short-term solution to see just how strong Bishop is. If he's great, then maybe you trade Khudobin. If not, then it sure would be nice to have both Khudobin and Oettinger to share the load.
We'll see. The good thing is having Oettinger there means the future in net should be fine, and whether he plays in the minors next season or not, he'll soon have a permanent spot in the NHL.