For the first time in over a decade the Edmonton Oilers will have a new goalie coach. Dustin Schwartz, who was hired in November of 2014, will not return for a 12th season. His contract expired on last week on June 30th, and the Oilers have decided to not sign him to an extension.
I wrote two weeks ago that one of Stuart Skinner or Schwartz wouldn’t return. It was just time for a new voice. But I believe the Oilers need to do more than just hire a goalie coach. They should build a legitimate goalie department — one that has a goalie director and then two or three more people in the department. The Oilers are one of the top revenue generating teams in the NHL and now is not the time to be cheap out on a goalie department.
From talking to people in the goaltending community teams like Anaheim, Calgary, Colorado, Florida (biggest department), L.A., Montreal (role not as defined, but have extra body), Nashville, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh, Toronto and San Jose have bigger departments. New Jersey still has four people, although Scott Clemmensen left last year and wasn’t replaced.
There is no reason the Oilers shouldn’t join this list. They have the money and considering how challenging it is to develop goalies, why not invest more in that department to give yourself a better chance at success? The Oilers are making boatloads of money, and with no salary cap on coaching, I see zero reason they should construct a legitimate goalie department.
It doesn’t guarantee you success, but with so many young goalies signed in the organization from Stuart Skinner (26), Connor Ungar (23), Samuel Jonsson (21), Nathaniel Day (20) and draft picks Eemil Vinni (19) and Daniel Salonen (19), why not give yourself the best opportunity develop a few of them into solid NHLers? I’ve always found it interesting how many amateur scouts a team has, as they clearly value scouting, but don’t have the same focus on development.
Last August, the Vancouver Canucks essentially demoted Ian Clark as their head goalie coach and replace him with Marko Torenius. Clark is still getting paid by the Canucks as a goalie scout. Clark would be a viable option to lead your goalie department. Sean Burke is another one who would be a great option.
If the Oilers are only looking for a goalie coach, here are some names I’m hearing they have spoke to and some I think they should.
Stephen Waite. He won two Cups with Chicago and spent many years with Carey Price in Montreal. He’s been out of the league for a few years, but I was told he’d like to get back in. If he is still interested, I’d interview him.
Mackenzie Skapski. He is currently the Flames AHL goalie coach. He’s a disciple of Benoit Allaire, and he worked closely with Dustin Wolf. He is highly regarded and his name came up from all four different goalie people I spoke to.
Sylvain Rodrigue. He was with the organization before and worked with Skinner in Bakersfield. He’s currently in Florida, and I was told the Oilers have, or are hoping, to interview him.
Pete Aubrey. Has been in NCAA the past few years, but also worked with Chicago’s AHL team. I’ve heard he’ll be interviewed.
Marco Marciano is another name that kept coming up. He’s highly touted and working in Laval with Montreal’s AHL team. His name kept coming up, similar to Skapski.
Dan Stewart is the St. Louis Blues AHL coach. He’s worked his way up from the OHL, to USport and the past five seasons in the AHL.
There are many quality names. The Oilers have already spoke to a few and are planning more.
It was time to change the goalie coach, but the change should be much bigger. The organization needs to look at improving every aspect of the organization and starting a goalie department is long overdue.
