The Edmonton Oilers’ issues in the crease are a surprise to no one. This narrative has hounded the team since the offseason. The apparent need for a legitimate starting goaltender has permeated the team’s season.
Analysts and insiders have linked just about every starting goalie to the Oilers. Some ideas have made sense, while others have been completely outrageous. Regardless of who ends up in Edmonton, the club will be trying to follow the lead of another Western Conference powerhouse.
Last season, the Colorado Avalanche found themselves with an abysmal goaltending situation. GM Chris MacFarland pulled off a fascinating feat by overhauling the team’s goalie tandem in-season. Gone were Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen, and in were MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. That’s the tandem that’s accounted for three straight shutouts this season.
That feat is one that Oilers’ GM Stan Bowman will attempt to replicate this season. Bowman has an underwhelming tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. So, the goal will be to ship out the team’s current duo and bring in some fresh faces.
As insider Jeff Marek noted in the November 27 edition of The Sheet, the Oilers are looking to follow the Avalanche’s lead from last season.
Marek stated:
“This would be the definitive improvement in net; I think Pickard’s probably gone too, I think this is gonna be what we saw from Colorado last season; a swapping out of two.”
Pulling off the same thing the Avalanche did last season could be harder than landing humans on Mars. With the overall trade market such as it is, who knows if the Oilers will find available netminders to overhaul their tandem?
And even if the Oilers found willing partners, how much would that cost? One would have to think the cost would be astronomical.
Oilers Could Target Penguins Netminder
One of the names floating around the rumor mill has been Tristan Jarry to the Oilers. That trade chatter is nothing new. Jarry-to-Edmonton rumors go back to this past summer. While nothing ever truly materialized, the fact remains that Edmonton has been kicking the tires around the league.
Jarry has had a bounce-back season this year. He’s appeared in eight games, winning six, to go with a 2.53 GAA and a .914 SV%. The numbers look good. But Jarry’s track record of injuries and inconsistency could turn the Oilers off.
Still, Jarry is one of the many names circulating in the media. Perhaps this rumor might gain traction after all, considering the Penguins now have Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov looking like NHL-level goalies.
Edmonton Running out of Time
The Avalanche moved swiftly last season. They saw the writing on the wall in October and made deals in November. As such, the Oilers may have delayed the inevitable too long. While the club isn’t out of contention at this point, the ship may have sailed on overhauling their goalie tandem.
Part of that situation has to do with the goalie market itself. With only a handful of teams really out of contention, it’s been tough to pry netminders away from other teams. Unless the Oilers can find willing trade partners before New Year’s, it seems the club will have little choice but to roll with Skinner and Pickard for the remainder of the season.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Oilers Could Try What Avalanche Did Last Season, Insider Claims appeared first on Heavy Sports.