The Edmonton Oilers may have targeted the Montreal Canadiens as their best chance to acquire a goaltender that can help them as Jack Campbell spends time in the AHL and Stuart Skinner tries to shoulder the load with a very inactive Calvin Pickard backing him up. Edmonton has had goaltending issues this season and while their imminent schedule does give them a chance to keep running Skinner without overplaying him, that can’t last forever.
Meanwhile, the Canadiens have three netminders active right now. Sam Montembeault is someone they’d like to get inked to a new deal, Cayden Primeau is a player they could move, and Jake Allen’s name often seems to be out there in trade talks.
“The Oilers do continue to look at the goaltender market. A number of teams were in Montreal, said that Edmonton was there and looking at all three of Montreal’s goaltenders.” He added, “I don’t believe there’s anything imminent there, I just think it’s the Oilers continuing to do their due diligence, they’re determined not to make a panic trade they’ll regret, but there’s no question, with every loss like the one they had this afternoon, the focus continues more on them.”
All three require waivers to be sent to the AHL. Of the three, Allen is the most expensive. The Oilers couldn’t add him without moving some money out. The team could afford both Montembeault and Primeau without drastic changes to the Oilers’ active roster.
The Oilers Won’t Rush This, But Something Has to Give
How the Oilers play on this current road trip may be the determining factor into what they do here. If the Oilers lose most of the four games, they could be so far behind the pack when it comes to the playoffs, they may have to consider whether adding anyone is worth the cost. If they win their next three and stay in the hunt, they’ll need a netminder.
The question is if any of these three are significant upgrades. There’s no point in making this trade and giving up important assets if there’s a belief it doesn’t move the needle much and give the Oilers the stable goaltending they need.
Next: 3 Takeaways: Oilers’ Power Play Fails in Nutty 6-4 Loss to Lightning
