According to Bob Stauffer, Oilers Now host, the Edmonton Oilers have placed goaltender Mike Smith on the long-term injured reserve. The backup will miss at least 10 games or 24 days and with the news, GM Ken Holland has recalled Oliver Rodrigue from Europe to the Oilers taxi squad.
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It was not revealed why Smith was out and there’s been no mention of an injury. Clearly, the news is unexpected for Edmonton, otherwise the team never would have waived netminder Anton Forsberg, ultimately losing him to the Winnipeg Jets after Carolina claimed him then waived him again a couple of days later.
Rodrigue has been playing in the Austrian National League. He’ll now join the club’s taxi squad, pending quarantine protocols.
It is also expected that Holland will see if a trade is out there and head coach Dave Tippett said there were ongoing discussions by Oilers management about the goaltending situation.
Are There Other Options for the Oilers?
The Oilers are now in a bit of a pickle when it comes to their goaltending issues. It was clear something was up when Smith didn’t dress as the Oilers took on the Vancouver Canucks in a back-to-back on Thursday. He wasn’t on the ice again Friday and all the Oilers would say was that he was ruled “unfit to play.” Rodrigue will have to quarantine and Stuart Skinner isn’t exactly experienced when it comes to NHL action.
Jimmy Howard is potentially a fit, but even he comes with complications for the Oilers should they choose to go that direction. If he has anything left in the tank, he still has to go through a 14-day quarantine and getting him up to speed would take weeks..minimum.
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