Jake Oettinger reacts to Wyatt Johnston's massive $42M contract extension with Dallas Stars

Dallas Stars goalie Jake Oettinger shared a message on Instagram, reacting to his teammate Wyatt Johnston signing a long-term contract extension with the franchise.

Oettinger reposted the official announcement about the deal, which the Stars’ official account posted on Friday.

(Credit: IG/@jake30oettinger)

“WyJo magic is here to stay 🪄. We have signed Wyatt Johnston to a 5-year contract extension through the 2029-2030 season,” the Stars captioned.

Dallas pulled off a coup when it acquired Finnish center Mikko Rantanen from the Carolina Hurricanes and signed him on to an eight-year $96-million deal. The Stars also acquired center Mikael Granlund from the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 1. By retaining Johnston, they have the makings of a real Stanley Cup contender, according to NHL analysts.

“Wyatt has established himself as one of the best young forwards in the NHL,” Dallas general manager Jim Nill said on Sunday, via NHL.com. “His skill, maturity, and dedication to the game has already made him a valuable contributor, and we believe he will be a huge asset for us moving forward.”

Johnston has 60 points this season from 24 goals and 36 assists. He would have become a restricted free agent in July had he not signed a new deal.

"It’s a really exciting group that I’m so happy and thankful to be a part of," Johnston said on Saturday, via NHL.com. "It's super exciting, just to see where things are at with the Stars. I love being here and it’s awesome."

The Stars are second in the Central Division with 84 points from 63 games, eight points behind the Winnipeg Jets.

Jake Oettinger’s contract saga revisited

Jake Oettinger has spent his entire career with the Dallas Stars. The franchise chose him in the first round of the 2017 draft when he was a freshman at Boston College. He signed with the Stars in 2019.

This season is the final year of the goalie’s three-year contract with Dallas, but the team didn’t keep him in suspense for too long. In October, Oettinger signed a new eight-year $66 million deal.

"Just so excited and happy to know where I'm going to be for the foreseeable future," Oettinger said on Oct. 18, via NHL.com. "I couldn't be more honored to have them believe in me like that, and the way (Stars general manager) Jim (Nill) treated me since I became a Dallas Star has been first class.”

This season, Oettinger has won 30 of 46 games with a GAA of 2.48, the 10th-best in the league.