Edmonton Oilers goalies often receive a lot of criticism from the fan base. Stuart Skinner hasn’t been able to seal the deal when it comes to winning the Stanley Cup. Despite this, it’s easy to forget that he is still young (by goalie standards) and any trade involving him would be premature, with the potential to come back to haunt them.
That being said, it hasn’t stopped pundits from naming potential options for the Oilers to explore. And for Oil Country, they have once again been linked to a goalie who could be a game-changer.
Edmonton Oilers Could Add Hall-of-Fame Netminder
GettyMarc-Andre Fleury
The Athletic’s Allan Mitchell published a piece looking at the Oilers’ trade options. His piece doesn’t inspire much faith in the team executing a deal before Game One of the regular season. However, he once again mentioned two goaltenders who have been linked to the Oilers this summer.
“Mike DiPietro of the Boston Bruins is most often mentioned,” Mitchell wrote. “Marc-Andre Fleury is still on the radar for all Stanley Cup contenders.”
When assessing DiPietro, Mitchell provided some stats that give perspective to the situation.
“He wouldn’t be a clear upgrade on the Skinner-Pickard tandem, and he hasn’t delivered a strong preseason so far (.844 save percentage at five-on-five through two games),” Mitchell continued. “The Utah Mammoth just successfully waived Connor Ingram. Many Oilers fans wanted to see the club pluck Ingram off waivers.”
“A more astute move might be trading for Ingram now that he’s cleared waivers and is in the minors.”
As far as Fleury is concerned, Mitchell expresses that other insiders (such as Pierre LeBrun) believe that NHL teams will be calling Fleury to get him to reconsider retirement.
“It would make a lot of sense for the Oilers. NHL history is rich with stories of retired goaltenders re-entering the battle and performing brilliantly,” writes Mitchell.
Oilers Linked to Many Goalies
Most recently, the Oilers were linked to claiming Utah Mammoth goalie Connor Ingram. While they didn’t claim him off waivers, that doesn’t rule out the possibility of acquiring the goalie via trade.
According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, the Oilers are one team keeping tabs on the Saskatchewan-born netminder.
” At one point, Utah and Carolina thought they had a trade this summer for Connor Ingram; you wonder if Carolina would take a run at him,” Kypreos said. ” I have heard the Oilers are kicking tires as well (possibly) on the thought of Connor Ingram.”
Ingram had a solid season in 2023-24, but last year he struggled due to injury and off-ice issues.
Oilers’ Chances of Upgrading on Calvin Pickard
On the most recent episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman discussed Calvin Pickard and the options the team could explore for an upgrade.
“Pickard, when he’s played, has gotten W’s for the Oilers,” Friedman told his co-host. “I could see them looking at the salary for Ingram and saying ‘no.’ The way the players talk about Pickard, I would be curious to see if the Oilers would want to unseat him.”
Then Friedman brought up two players he believes will be hot commodities this week, when the waiver wire picks up.
“This is business, and if you believe in a guy like Stevenson or DiPietro, you have to look at it,” Friedman stated. “But I was very intrigued by what those guys said about him. And the only reason I would even wonder is, these guys make less than him.”
“But it’s very, very clear that he’s a hugely popular guy in that room.”
Whether the Oilers look to Michael DiPietro, Clay Stevenson, or another option, it’s becoming clear that tough decisions will need to be made this year.
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