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Dallas Stars: Rolling With the Goaltender Tandem

By Suraj Sukumar

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The Dallas Stars have continued to improve over the last few years and look to be a major contender next season. One of the faster growing trends in the NHL is goalie tandems, and the Stars embraced that movement by signing Antti Niemi to a 3-year, $13.5 million contract. With Kari Lehtonen making $5.9 million till 2018-19 and no indication of a trade, the Stars are looking for both Finnish goalies to battle for starts.

“Goalies have a certain friendship, and Antti and I are friends, and I think that helps a great deal.” – Kari Lehtonen

New Head Coach  Jeff Reese believes “it’s pretty rare that a coach gets the chance to come in and work with two goalies of this caliber.” With a combined price tag of $10.4 million, the Stars are spending the most in the NHL on improving their goaltending. If Reese has the ability to manage both goaltenders well, the Stars will be a much more consistent team in the NHL. However, the most important effort has to come from the players, and both Niemi and Lehtonen seem committed to the system.

Signing on for three seasons, Niemi increased the optimism in Dallas by saying “my agent and I talked about it a lot, and it was an easy choice to join the Stars. I think it’s going to be great to work with Kari, and I think we can both get an advantage out of it.”

For Niemi to welcome the challenge of battling Lehtonen for starts, he seems committed to make the most of his opportunities in Dallas. Niemi was phenomenal in his second year with the Chicago Blackhawks, winning the Stanley Cup and posting an impressive 26-7-4 regular season record. After leaving Chicago for the San Jose Sharks, Niemi has yet to find similar success in the postseason since joining his second team in 2010-11. Discounting his recent playoff experiences, Niemi has been a very successful NHL goalie and should find success with his new team.

Will this increase improve the play of Lehtonen? He seems to think so.

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Lehtonen has welcomed the challenge from his fellow countryman with open arms, and hopes this is the best thing for his career as well. “My year was disappointing, so I want to fix that, and I’m open to doing anything I can to do that. We are adults and we are older in our careers, so I think we can work through anything that comes up. Goalies have a certain friendship, and Antti and I are friends, and I think that helps a great deal.”

Lehtonen finished the season with a solid 34-17-10 record, but maintained a .904 save percentage and 2.94 goals against average. He is coming off his worst season as a full-time goalie and will need to pick things up in 2015-16 if he hopes to keep his role with the Stars. If Lehtonen can turn things around, the Stars may have made the best decision by bringing Niemi to Dallas.

As General MAnager Jim Nill has confirmed, the Stars are very committed to the “two-goalie league” mentality and will be hoping for the best Finland-born tandem. With a quickly-rising group of skaters, the addition of Niemi will help Lehtonen carry the load, which should help the Stars be a much more competitive team next season. They are proven goaltenders in the NHL and should provide exactly what the Stars need, reliable goaltending.

Next: Mike Richards and What the Future May Hold

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