Ready or not, hockey world, here comes Jake Oettinger

The best thing about Jake Oettinger is he's uber talented.

He's a first-round draft pick, he's built like an NFL tight end (6-foot-5, 220 pounds), he's incredibly athletic, mixing flexibility with strength and quickness in a package that allows him to perform feats few others can.

In the end, that's what makes professional athletes special, because they are uniquely talented.

But the next best thing about Jake Oettinger is the fact he mixes all of that with mental strength, calm, and a relentless drive to compete.

That's what makes the elite among athletes even better.

Oettinger on Thursday signed a three-year contract that averages $4 million a season. That's good for Oettinger, who now has a chance to establish himself as one of the best goalies in the NHL and get an even bigger contract when this one ends and several veteran deals are off the books for Dallas. It's good for the Stars, who get the opportunity to see Oettinger prove himself before they commit to that potential long-term deal. And it's good for the fans, who get to watch the youngest starting goalie since the team moved to Dallas in 1993 try to take hold of the position for a decade or more.

It sure looks like Oettinger is special.

He looked that way when he stepped in as a rookie and went 11-8-7 with a 2.36 goals against average and .911 save percentage on a squad that was a bit scrambled two years ago. He looked that way last season when he had to go to the minors because of an abundance of veteran goalies, and didn't let it bother him. He looked that way when he was given a chance to battle with Braden Holtby and Anton Khudobin for the right to backstop a team that had designs on making the playoffs -- doing just that with a 30-15-1 record and a 2.52 GAA and .914 save percentage.

And he looked very much that way in the playoffs when he almost single-handedly pulled an upset on the Calgary Flames, losing in seven games but posting a GAA of 1.81 and a save percentage of .954 that were among the best in the post-season.

"He played a hell of a game," Stars captain Jamie Benn said after Oettinger made 64 saves in a 3-2 overtime loss in Game 7. "I haven't seen too many like that. If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have been close to overtime, having a chance to win."

Calgary coach Darryl Sutter called Oettinger the best player in the series and many speculated it was one of the best playoff performances they have seen in years. For Oettinger's part, he said it was fun … and left him wanting more.

"I've never been more motivated than I am right now," he said afterward. "I'm going to do everything I can to make sure that I get this opportunity again and I'll make sure I'm on the other side of it the next time … I have a lot of stuff I want to work on. I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of where I'm going to be one day. That excites me."

The contract sort of shows that.

Yes, it took a little while to get to this point, but Oettinger took a deal that helps the Stars in their quest to get Jason Robertson signed. While Oettinger has some leverage, Robertson has more after posting 41 goals last season. This leaves the Stars with about $7.8 million in cap space to get the Robertson deal done. It could be a little more if the Stars decide to not carry three goalies and find a way to move Khudobin's $2.2 million cap hit.

That's good business for a team that is trying to juggle a lot of things.

Dallas has a new coaching staff in place led by Pete DeBoer, who likely is going to push for a more offensive brand of hockey - which will test Oettinger even more. The Stars are in the midst of a transition that could eventually put players like Wyatt Johnston (19), Mavrik Bourque (20), Logan Stankoven (19), Thomas Harley (21) and Ty Dellandrea (22) on the roster. That also will put more pressure on Oettinger to be as steady as possible.

But the 23-year-old seems ready for it.

He oozes confidence and gets rave reviews from every coached about his work ethic and his professionalism.

"Jake Oettinger, he's a franchise goalie and the good news is, he'll keep getting better," said former Stars coach Rick Bowness. "He's a young guy, this is his first run in the playoffs, he's going to gain from this experience. The Dallas Stars are in good shape for a long time with Jake.

The best thing about this contract for Jake Oettinger is he earned every bit of it.

The next best thing is there's very little chance he lets it affect his play.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.