Dallas Stars weekly: Oettinger vs Hellebuyck for Team USA & Thomas Harley is elite

Welcome to DLLS Dallas Stars weekly! Every Monday, I will recap news, rumors, notes, and articles from the previous week.

Let’s get into it.

Jake Oettinger or Connor Hellebuyck?

On Winnipeg Jets day of “The Other 31”, we had some great discussions about the Stars-Jets playoff series, the Central Division, and the goalie duel for Team USA’s starting job at the 2026 Winter Olympics.

If you had asked anyone in April, they would have said Connor Hellebuyck was the clear starter, with Jake Oettinger as the backup. That’s how the US rolled it out for the 4 Nations, and it mostly worked.

But then Oettinger sparkled in the first two rounds of the playoffs, outdueling Mackenzie Blackwood with Colorado and then Hellebuyck with the Jets. Hellebuyck did himself some favors by improving his play away from home and winning a playoff series. But in the end, Hellebuyck still could not win a game on the road, and he was the second-best goalie in the second-round series, leading to a Dallas-Edmonton rematch in the Western Conference Final.

THEN, Oettinger was out-goalied (again) by Stuart Skinner and (again) fell to the Oilers in the third round. If you ask former Stars coach Pete DeBoer… no, just kidding, I’m not going there.

So, who has the edge in the Olympics right now? How important will the first few months of the regular season be? How much will it matter to USA Hockey that it is a short tournament, meaning whichever goalie gets the nod will have to get hot quickly and stay hot? Is it more impressive to them to be elite for longer stretches (Hellebuyck) or when the games mean the most (Oettinger)?

Who will start in goal for Team USA at the Olympics?

Is it Jake Oettinger or Connor Hellebuyck? pic.twitter.com/0SV7TMHnRN

— DLLS Stars (@DLLS_Stars) August 18, 2025

Will they use both goalies regularly in a longer tournament??

We discussed plenty of this on Friday’s show, so check that out if you missed it. And YES, we played the Hellebuyck-Buyck-Buyck drop and danced.

PS – I have a fun Oettinger story from an exclusive interview coming soon.

Time to mix things up?

I had so many different lineup and roster options running through my head after Dallas signed Nathan Bastian.

Instead of going the traditional route, I decided to think outside the box.

Like my thoughts on Roope Hintz:

“What if Hintz slid down to the second or even third line? Johnston is normally in the 3C spot, but still plays among the most minutes of any forward on a nightly basis. On this team, especially, the line you are on doesn’t predict total ice time. Dallas will again roll some lines, whether that is as consistent as it was under DeBoer, we will see…

… So how about Hintz in a 2C or 3C role?”

I got an understandable amount of arguing from Stars fans. But isn’t that sort of the point of my job?

Two possible Dallas Stars lineup shake-ups under Glen Gulutzan

Among the elite

We all know Miro Heiskanen is the Stars best player and one of the better defenseman in the NHL. But where does he actually stand compared to the other best?

And what about Thomas Harley? After an explosive 16 goals, 50 points, and plus-32 rating last season, Harley is looking like a potential No. 1 defenseman whom Dallas will have to pay some big bucks to after this season.

Let’s see how the NHL Network crew rated the D-men…

Our Top 20 Defensemen Right Now list has a total of:
• 19 total All-Star Game appearances
• 9 All-Rookie team honors
• 6 James Norris Memorial Trophies
• 2 Calder Trophies
• 2 Conn Smythe Trophies
• 9 Stanley Cups

What do you think of our list?@NHL | #NHLTopPlayers pic.twitter.com/0MaGYS04de

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 13, 2025

Two in the top 15? Along with maybe the best defensive defenseman and penalty killer in the league in Esa Lindell? I don’t care what “problems” they have below those three; Dallas is set on the blue line.

Oh, and by the way… they also have the 4th-best winger in the game according to NHL Network… and he should only get better this year.

Mikko Rantanen's unique 2024-25 season consisted of being traded twice and facing his former team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Despite the turmoil, Rantanen proved to be one of the game's elite wings. #NHLTopPlayers@JamisonCoyle | @Rupper17 | @mike_p_johnson | @DallasStars https://t.co/sshqDSWH78 pic.twitter.com/hqIcD6uSxu

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) August 12, 2025

The Best from DLLS

So far, nearly every “The Other 31” guest has considered Dallas not only a contender, but one of the top teams in the NHL.

One interesting conversation came from Zach Dooley (Los Angeles Kings insider), who talked about the importance for Dallas’ young core to take the next step, as well as full control of this team.

"I think it's that year where that group of guys who are 24 or 25… if that group can carry the team the way I think they're capable of… @DooleyLAK | #TexasHockey pic.twitter.com/kIM3aS0twV

— DLLS Stars (@DLLS_Stars) August 17, 2025

Interested in the Dallas Stars 2025-26 promotional schedule? Want to know the dates and what to expect? We got you!

What stands out most from the 2025-26 Dallas Stars promotional schedule?

AND… Who wants to play in the inaugural DLLS Stars pickleball tourney??

WATCH: https://t.co/6YXQePIbvM pic.twitter.com/LAzojtZpn3

— DLLS Stars (@DLLS_Stars) August 16, 2025

And finally, I leave you with a tier chart I found on Twitter that not only includes Dallas among the best, but also made me spit out my drink when I got to the bottom…

One of my favorite tier lists to do: What phase every team is in right now! pic.twitter.com/zkGRCrQhJa

— Mike Bartner (@MikeBartner) August 15, 2025