Oilers Have Mishandled Their Goaltending Situation

The Edmonton Oilers have had a goaltending dilemma for decades, and that hasn’t been fixed. The previous regime thought they addressed the goaltending when they signed Jack Campbell in free agency. Unfortunately, that signing was a disaster from the get-go, eventually leading to Campbell’s buyout, which is on the books until the 2029-30 season. That failure also forced Stuart Skinner into the starter’s role before he was ready, which had negative long-term effects.

Now, general manager Stan Bowman has tried to fix the goaltending problem again, but so far, it hasn’t worked out. The front office has made a few glaring errors with how they’ve handled the goaltending situation this season, and it’s not looking good. Looking back, Bowman should regret some of his decision-making, because the moves he made haven’t made the team better. If anything, the team is worse between the pipes. This whole situation was entirely mismanaged, and who knows if it can be fixed.

Oilers’ Loyalty to Calvin Pickard Proved Costly

Calvin Pickard had a great run in Edmonton, and if it weren’t for him, the Oilers wouldn’t have made it to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals. However, it’s time to focus on the present, not the past. This is a “what have you done for me lately” business, and this season, Pickard’s NHL numbers are atrocious. He has a putrid 3.68 goals-against average (GAA) and an .871 save percentage (SV%) in 16 games this season. That’s not good enough for a backup goaltender, and a change should’ve been made much sooner.

It’s well documented that Pickard is adored in the locker room, which is why he stuck around for so long. The Oilers had three goalies on the roster for over a month because they didn’t want to place him on waivers and upset the group.

“I can’t shut off the emotions. He’s one of my best friends. I’m going to miss him no matter what. But at the end of the day, I’ve got to continue to do what I do, whether Picks is here or not,” Leon Draisaitl stated after Pickard was sent down. The team was too loyal to the journeyman netminder, and that hindered their decision-making. If he had been waived sooner, maybe things would’ve turned out differently, which leads us to the next point.

Oilers Should’ve Called up Connor Ingram Before Trading Stuart Skinner

If the Oilers had made the difficult decision to waive Pickard in November, they could’ve called up Connor Ingram sooner and experimented with him in a tandem alongside Skinner. Unfortunately, they didn’t go that route and decided to trade Skinner to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Tristan Jarry on Dec. 12. Bowman made a desperation move in goal, and it’s coming back to bite him.

Not only did they make a lateral move, but they also gave up significant assets to do so. They traded defenceman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick in the deal and didn’t even get salary retention. The Penguins later flipped Kulak to the Colorado Avalanche for Samuel Girard and a second-round pick, in another example of poor asset management by Edmonton. The Oilers should’ve waited and been more patient in this situation.