Report: Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland ‘would be comfortable’ bringing back Mike Smith

If all else fails, it appears that the Edmonton Oilers would be comfortable bringing back goaltender Mike Smith.

In an article breaking down the Oilers roster and individual contract situations, Sportsnet’s Mark Spector dropped this little nugget about Smith.

It’s the first we’ve heard of the 38-year-old Smith’s NHL future.
Last year, 26 goalies played over 1700 minutes in net. At 5v5, Koskinen posted a .924 save percentage, eighth among those goalies. Smith’s .900 save percentage ranked 25th.

Among those goaltenders, Koskinen’s goals saved above average was 4.52, 10th in the league, while Smith’s -16.56 was again, 25th.

Smith has some good runs for the Oilers this year and I’ll be the first to admit that. He won Edmonton some games and brought some intangibles that can’t be quantified. A vet, Holland spoke of Smith’s value in his end of the season press conference.

I think the Oilers need to look elsewhere and at this point, I’m not certain that Smith is going even be a good fall back option. His poor performance in game one against Chicago got the Oilers off to a poor start and led to the clubs’ dismissal in the playoffs.

In what should be a goalie market with more than enough options better than Smith, Edmonton should be able to upgrade.

On Twitter: @zjlaing