There’s no larger question than what will happen with the Edmonton Oilers goaltending situation.
Jack Campbell is on waivers at the time of writing, with news of whether he’s claimed or not dropping less than an hour after this article is posted.
If he were to be claimed, that would be a huge boon for the Oilers, removing his $5-million cap hit and poor play from their roster. The most likely answer is that he clears waivers and is assigned to the American Hockey League, with his cap hit getting buried.
Continuing with the most likely route, the Oilers need to trade to bring in another goaltender — one of at least the quality of a “1B” to Stuart Skinner.
According to 630 CHED’s Reid Wilkins, the club has shown some interest in St. Louis Blues netminder Jordan Binnington.
Binnington, 30, was drafted by the Blues in the third round of the 2011 draft and has appeared in 120 games for them across seven seasons. His best year came during the 2018-19 season, his rookie year in the league, when he posted a 24-5-1 record, a .927 save percentage and a league-best 1.89 GAA. He backstopped them to a Stanley Cup championship and continued with two more strong seasons as their starter.
Between 2021-22 and 2022-23, Binnington’s game has seen some regression across 98 games played. He’s posted a 45-41-10 record, a .897 save percentage and a 3.24 GAA. For reference, Campbell, over that time, went 52-18-10 with a .903 save percentage and 2.96 GAA, with the first year being strong in Toronto and the second being weak in Edmonton.
Binnington, however, has had a great start to this 2023-24 campaign. Across eight games, he’s gone 3-4-1 but has a .919 save percentage, 2.58 GAA and has saved 3.9 goals above expected.
The big issue would be making Binnington’s contract work. A native of Richmond Hill, Ont., he has three years left after this on a deal paying him $6 million per year. In any scenario, Campbell would have to be moved out to bring in any other goaltender, especially in the case of Binnington.
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