One of the worst-kept secrets in hockey is that the Edmonton Oilers are looking at the market for goaltending.
They’ve seemingly been in the mix for years, connected to a plethora of names but perhaps none more frequent than John Gibson, who was dealt from the Anaheim Ducks to the Detroit Red Wings Saturday for backup netminder Petr Mrazek and a pair of picks. It’s eliminated at least one option from the market for the team, while another in pending restricted free agent Joel Hofer, who was extended by the Blues not long after.
It’s not a robust market, with few goaltenders available who could potentially provide upgrades and the free agent class offering even fewer.
And while Oilers general manager Stan Bowman and his staff are continuing to evaluate their options, he said one of them could be bringing back both of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard.
“Part of the evaluation is (with) the guys that we have, does it make the most sense to keep this group?” he said. “And that’s certainly a possibility. We’re not at the point where we’re saying we’re definitely bringing in new goalies.”
The evaluation, he said, is about determining whether or not any external options are upgrades over what they have.
“It’s just evaluating how can we do something that’s going to make our team better, and when we find that sweet spot that we think makes sense, the price is right, the player’s the right player, then we’ll move,” he said. “It’s going to be a process that we’re going to go through. I don’t think we’re going to come to one decision tomorrow or the next day.
“It’s really taking in the information, and eventually we’re going to settle on the thing that we think makes the most sense.”
The Oilers goaltending has been good enough to get them deep in the playoffs for two straight seasons — Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2024 and Game 6 this year — but it hasn’t been enough to get them over the hump.
Over the last two runs, Skinner has appeared in 38 games, posting a 21-16 record, a .896 save percentage and a 2.66 goals against average, while Pickard has appeared in 13, starting eight, with a 8-2 record, a .892 save percentage and a 2.72 goals against average.
Pickard had to enter the crease for the Oilers in the 2024 playoffs for two games against the Vancouver Canucks when Skinner wavered, while this year, he had a run of seven straight wins against the Los Angeles Kings and Vegas Golden Knights before being injured. While Skinner stepped back in playing well, Pickard had a relief performance in Game 3 and 4 of the the Stanley Cup Final, before starting Game 5.
Edmonton’s inability to trust one netminder over the other in the playoffs isn’t something that’s often seen in the playoffs, and has been something many have pointed to as a reason the Oilers need to find an answer, one way or the other.
