Oilers recall goaltender Calvin Pickard from AHL Condors

Pickard’s the first of many Black Aces to be recalled from the Condors. While he began the season with the Oilers, the team placed him on waivers in early Februrary, and assigned him to the AHL.

After posting a 5-6-2 record, a .871 save percentage and a 3.68 goals against average in 16 NHL games this season, Pickard drew in for eight with the Condors, and his numbers didn’t fare much better, posting a 4-3-1 record, .886 Sv% and a 3.26 GAA.

Days after he was sent down, Pickard’s agent, Ritch Winter, was none too pleased with his client being sent down, saying he wasn’t sure if either Connor Ingram or Tristan Jarry were better than Pickard.

“The situation has been unusual, because in the conversations I’ve had with Stan [Bowman], he’s not sure Calvin’s not number one,” said Winter on The Jason Gregor Show. “Right now, the coach has got favours lemonade and strawberry and is not sure on grape.

“There’s not a lot of difference between them. The statistics are very similar… It didn’t make sense to me when you could’ve sent Ingram down. Now, they got Calvin through waivers.

“We’ve heard it for two years. Every time Calvin’s in the net, everyone says the team plays better because they love him, because they want him to succeed… he’s a glue figure in the dressing room. Draisaitl posted on Instagram within seconds of Calvin clearing waivers, maybe the best teammate they’ve all had. You can’t deny the value of that when you’re down a couple of games in the playoffs.”

Ingram, meanwhile, has taken the reins in the Oilers crease, posting a 16-10-3 record, a .899 Sv%, a 2.60 GAA while earning quality starts in 63 percent of his stats. He’ll be the Oilers starting goaltender, but in fairness to Winter, Pickard has been a much beloved member of the team. So much so that in November, when the Oilers were contemplating placing Pickard on waivers, players went to bat for him.

Now, Pickard will look to be a glue guy as the Oilers’ number three goaltender in the playoffs.