Edmonton Oilers
Oilers Expected to be Very Aggressive in Goaltending Search this Offseason
It might not happen this season, but an insider expects the Edmonton Oilers to aggressively pursue a goaltending upgrade in the summer.
The Edmonton Oilers players, coaching staff, and organization never want to blame their goaltenders for another sluggish start to a season, but at some point, you’re going to need better than a 3+ goals-against average and an under-900 save percentage.
Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have shown time and time again that they just aren’t good enough for a team that views every year as Stanley Cup or bust, yet several years later, we still haven’t seen any move of substance to upgrade at the position.
Plenty of factors can be attributed to that, but according to insider David Pagnotta, don’t expect Stan Bowman and company to sit on their hands much longer, as he believes they could push all of their chips in for a goalie this offseason with Skinner and others’ money coming off the books.
“The answer I give is wait until the summer. I’m expecting the Oilers to be very, very aggressive in the offseason, because they’ll have roster and cap flexibility to do it,”
The Oilers are currently slated to have $17.885 million in cap space next summer, with the vast majority of the core all under contract.
Who Could the Edmonton Oilers Target in Goal?
So if the Oilers are going to be all-in on acquiring a goaltender in the offseason, who are their options?
The free agent market, as always, is very thin, and they’ll be hard-pressed to find much of an upgrade there, which leaves it up to a trade, and that’s where Edmonton will have a better chance of finding a true number one goalie.
We’ve heard Juuse Saros’ name connected to the Oilers in recent weeks. While that’s very intriguing, there remain other possibilities, such as Jordan Binnington, Tristan Jarry, and maybe even Ilya Sorokin if they pony up with a strong enough trade package.
It’s going to be frustrating for the time being for everyone involved, but as Pagnotta referred to, it all lines up better for Edmonton to strike and land a legitimate starting goalie this offseason.
Next: Oilers Suddenly With Huge Opportunity — If They Can Take Advantage
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