The Edmonton Oilers have run into all kinds of goaltending problems early this season, but it doesn’t appear management will be pressing the panic button.
While both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard rank near the bottom of the league in goals-saved above expected (GSAx) and have save percentages in the .800 range, the confidence for them to rebound is there.
The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun appeared on Wednesday night’s episode of OilersNow with 880 CHED’s Bob Stauffer where he revealed that the team is not interested in trading for a new goaltender… at least not right now.
“That’s just not a priority for Edmonton,” LeBrun said. “My understanding is the Oilers are not looking at [goaltending] at all right now.
“For cap reasons, for other reasons, they are going to sink or swim with [Stuart] Skinner right now. That’s what I say today on November 20, ask me again in a couple of months, who knows.”
Taking another look at #Oilers goalies’ stats through the first 20 games of the season:
GSAx as per @MoneyPuckdotcom
Skinner: -8.9 GSAx (73rd of 75)
Pickard: -0.1 GSAx (39th of 75)Pickard is better of late, Skinner really needs to pick things up.
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) November 21, 2024
This shouldn’t come as a huge surprise to most fans. The Oilers went through a similar phase early last season that saw Skinner struggle to string together consistent starts. Yet, as the season wore on, he was able to get his save percentage up to .905 with a sparkling 36-16-5 record. He also struggled early in the playoffs before putting up strong performances in the Western Conference Final and the Stanley Cup Final.
It sounds like there is hope that Skinner will be able to rediscover his game at some point this season, allowing Oilers GM Stan Bowman to upgrade other parts of his roster through trade. The real concern will be if Calvin Pickard can continue to be a capable backup down the stretch.
The 32-year-old Pickard was great last season with a .909 save percentage through 22 regular season games and even picked up a playoff victory against the Vancouver Canucks. However, he has historically been an AHL goaltender, and early returns haven’t been encouraging this season. If things continue to falter, Edmonton could possibly target a backup goaltender to platoon with Skinner.
That is all theoretical, of course. Right now, all indications point to the Oilers giving this tandem a bit more time to find their groove. We’ll see if they can do it.