The Edmonton Oilers goaltending depth chart for the 2025–26 season

No player is more singled out than the goalie, shouldering the burdens of the crease alone. The position has been an area of concern for the Edmonton Oilers, as they changed goalie coaches this season. Hoping for more from their current group, the Oilers saw some rotation, leaving Olivier Rodrigue to sign elsewhere. Beneath the regular NHLers Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard, there is significant change. Most notably, the Oilers are without a proven third stringer should anything go awry.

Instead, the Oilers goaltending position is classified by volume and youth. Let’s take a closer look at the depth chart to see what the Oilers are working with.

Skinner does have a solid resume

While often criticized, Stuart Skinner has put together a solid resume. This fact is emphasized by comparing against goalies born the same year, like Jake Oettinger, Jeremy Swayman, and Filip Gustavsson. While Skinner does not share the high end reputation of these contemporaries, his raw stats like wins and save percentage are closer than one might expect.

This comes despite Skinner being drafted with much less fanfare than the aforementioned trio. Skinner has routinely fought against the odds to reach this point, yet at times it seems he is fighting himself. Some have pointed to his lack of lateral quickness as an issue, though Skinner comes into the season with some potential solutions.

Slimmed down versus last season, Skinner should be a bit quicker in net, especially over the course of a game or a season. A new goalie coach offers the mystery box of possibilities as well. Skinner is, at the very least, an extremely affordable tandem option. Skinner should be ready for another strong season, and at a certain point his doubters may have to admit his competence.

While he has certainly had some rough patches, Skinner deserves credit for his work with the Oilers. A depth prospect who has consistently overdelivered, Skinner will once again have claim to the starting role for a legitimate contender. Skinner was forged under this pressure, not given time to push for the starters role after Jack Campbell faltered. Accomplishing three straight 50 game seasons under these circumstances is an impressive feat of its own.

Pickard as an underdog

Speaking of scrappy underdogs, Calvin Pickard is no stranger to out performing expectations as an Oiler. Pickard was a journeyman third stringer, who has valiantly proven himself a reliable backup goalie outright. Like Skinner, he provides tremendous cap value as well.

Although this seems to be the peak of his abilities, a reliable backup goaltender is extremely valuable. Pickard’s results mirror Skinner’s in a smaller role, and most importantly he seems to have the full trust of his teammates.

Some might still try to relegate Pickard to a third string role under ideal circumstances. While it would always be nice to have more depth, Pickard deserves credit for getting the job done regardless.

It is a conservative approach for the Oilers to bring back both of their goalies once more. Most would point to this as the weak spot of the team, though the Oilers forwards and defence groups set a high bar. The cap value cannot be overlooked, but many would have appreciated a more aggressive approach to attacking a weakness of the roster. Altogether, Skinner and Pickard are a solid tandem at a value price.

Jonsson isn’t quite NHL-ready

Things thin out after the top two, as the Oilers are without an obvious third string goalie. This could be precarious, or perhaps as a sign of things to come. A long term injury might even force the Oilers into a trade due to this fact.

For now, Samuel Jonsson is the torchbearer. coming off of an exemplary season in the Allsvenskan, the 21-year-old comes over to North America. This was an aggressive move, as some might have left Jonsson in Sweden another season.

Instead, Jonsson is set to take the jump up to the AHL. He likely will not be used as a starter early on, and it might take time to adjust to the new league. If Jonsson is able to earn more starts as the season progresses it will be an incredibly encouraging sign. Ideally, one might hope that Jonsson can position himself as the AHL starter by the end of next season. Of course strong results might accelerate his timeline, but it would be steep to put Jonsson in an NHL game at this point.

Tomkins could see NHL time

Instead, it might be veteran Matt Tomkins who has the more realistic shot at NHL action this season. There is not believed to be much upside left for the 31-year-old, who might not have beat out Rodrigue for the AHL starting job last season. At the very least Tomkins has some savvy, and clearly the Oilers enjoy knowing what to expect.

In fact, Tomkins might be a good barometer for how some of the younger goalies are performing. Having a veteran in the room might help, especially for short term call ups. This might allow the younger goalies to get more starts, shielding them from the transactions between leagues.

Could Ungar see icetime in the NHL?

Connor Ungar has had a less conventional career path, going from USports to the ECHL last season. The results were promising, as it is not always easy for goalies to dominate more chaotic leagues. In his first season as a professional, Ungar put together an impressive season. Surely he has earned some time in the AHL this season, but getting a healthy amount of games last season should pay dividends. Although less heralded, Ungar is entering his age 23 season.

There is a chance that Ungar can push both Jonsson and Tomkins for playing time this season. Of course NHL appearances should not be expected yet, he has a chance to earn his way into an AHL starting role.

Day has a ways to go

Finally, Nathaniel Day graduates from the OHL to professional hockey. This is a tough transition to make, even if Day is expected to be in the ECHL this season. At 20-years-old, Day is the youngest and least experienced in the Oilers system.

One might expect a similar strategy for handling Day this season as the Oilers did with Ungar last season. The ECHL can be difficult for goalies, but proving himself as a tandem option or as a starter by the end of this season would be a great sign from Day.

The goaltending situation is similar to last season’s

In all, the Oilers have a decent goaltending situation. While the quality of the players themselves is one thing, it seems fairly inelegant to have only stretch options for a legitimate third string role. The best case scenario is that the Oilers are healthy all season, or that one of Jonsson or Ungar can step in as a strong AHL starter.

At the same time the solution might not be so simple. Making a waiver claim in the near future might give a third strong upgrade, but might also require the Oilers to expose Pickard to waivers. The Oilers might trade for a goalie who has already passed through waivers, but that would crowd the AHL crease significantly. The issue is that trading for such a goalie will probably come at a premium price, meaning the cost will be higher than the name brand value.

While returning the same tandem might sound disappointing, neither Pickard or Skinner should bear the brunt of this. In fact, Skinner is once again the Oilers best hope in net, as he has been for three seasons since Mike Smith stopped playing. A summer of training and a new goalie coach might be enough to help get the best out of Skinner, essentially acting as the upgrade fans might have been hoping for.