The Oilers’ Three-Goalie Plan Raises a More Intriguing Question

If the Edmonton Oilers are going with three goaltenders this season (which it appears they are), the question will quickly shift from, ‘Will this work?’ to “Who starts?’ From there, how many games each goaltender will get becomes the more intriguing storyline, simply because there’s absolutely no guarantee with any of the three netminders.

None of Tristan Jarry, Devon Levi, or Frederik Andersen is a lock to play 40+ games. Frankly, it’s hard to guess as to who will be the starter.

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Who Plays The Most and How Often?

Jarry wasn’t good last season. There’s no sugarcoating that. He came over in a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins, played half-decent until an injury, and never returned to the same level. When he struggled, he made a poor decision by throwing his teammates under the bus, a move that seemed to haunt him for much of the season. GM Stan Bowman admitted the move to acquire Jarry didn’t pan out as hoped, but the team is going to bring him back next season and give him another shot at finding his game.

If he finds it, maybe he plays 30-35 games. If he doesn’t, Jarry could play as few as 10-12, maybe less.

Meanwhile, Levi has a ton of upside, but is still relatively unproven. Bowman said of the decision to trade for the former Buffalo Sabres netminder:

“Tristan’s going to be back and the most important thing was to find a good, young goalie who has a lot of promise to his game. He’s played 39 NHL games so it’s not like he’s totally new to the opportunity. But his recent success has been in the American League and he’s been knocking on the door for an NHL opportunity….When you’re able to replicate success at the AHL level for multiple years it’s usually an indicator for somebody breaking through.”

The key here is that the breakthrough hasn’t happened yet. If it does, that’s great for the Oilers. That could lead to Levi gonig on a run and get a string of games from the new coach. If he gets hot, he might play 30-40 games. But, if Levi struggles, he’s likely to be the backup, coming in at around 25.

With Jarry at 30 and Levi at 25, that leaves Andersen with around 29 games.

That’s potentially a perfect mark to start Andersen at. The hope is that he plays well enough that he could get in 50% more starts and get to about 40, but he played 35 last season and he’s already said his days of starting a ton are over.

What Is The Ideal Scenario for the Oilers?

There’s a difference between what will happen and what the Oilers would like to see happen.

The ideal scenario is that Jarry finds something he didn’t find last season. The Oilers are committed to him for two more seasons at $5.375 million per season. The best thing would be that he plays so well he’s an easy decision to play 40 to 45 games. His success removes a ton of concern for the organization.

Second-best would be for Levi to show he’s got the stuff to be an NHL starter. Even better would be that he’s not so fantastic that he becomes an expensive player to re-sign. This is the last year of his contract before he becomes an RFA. If he can post solid numbers in 25 starts, the Oilers will have a good idea of what they’ve got on their hands. If they have to ride him for 40-plus games and he performs well, it’s great news, but it’s also bound to get expensive.

The hope is that the Oilers don’t need Andersen for more than 15-20 games, but if he’s solid in those games, he’ll have been worth the investment for a year.

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