Few people in the Edmonton Oilers organization have gotten more flak from the fan base in the last few years than goaltending coach Dustin Schwartz.
Goaltending has been a big point of contention in Alberta’s capital for some time, and Schwartz has found himself in the spotlight because of it. Part of that is because he’s been with the organization for 11 seasons now, joining midway through the 2014-25 season to replace Frederic Chabot.
Over his time in Edmonton, the team has struggled to develop a tried-and-true long-term starter. Cam Talbot has the most starts over that time, winning 104 of his 222 starts, posting a .912 save percentage and a 2.74 goals against average.. Then there’s Stuart Skinner, the team’s main man right now, who has won 94 of his 161 starts, posting a .906 save percentage and 2.74 goals against average.
Mikko Kosinen, Mike Smith, Ben Scrivens, Calvin Pickard, Jack Campbell, Anders Nilsson, Viktor Fasth and Laurent Brossoit have all started the bulk of the games, with Brossoit’s 20 being the fewest of the bunch.
Over Schwartz’s tenure, the Oilers have gotten below league average goaltending, with their team save percentage ranking 21st in the league, or 20th if you average out the rank of teams high-danger, medium-danger and low-danger chances. Either way, it’s been an area that’s held the team back seemingly time and time again.
And while the Edmonton market continues to question Schwartz, Pickard came to his defence in an appearance on Sports 1440’s The Jason Gregor Show this week.
Dustin Schwartz here, we’re both kind of cut from the same cloth. We really see eye-to-eye, but at this point in my career, a minor tweak here or there (to my game). We’ll watch a bunch of video and see what we’d like to do or change. My last game out, I let in four goals on zero shots against Anaheim, and it’s not like I’m waking up the next day and completely changing my game.We actually said I’m not going to change anything. I’d like to play a couple of those plays differently, but at this point, if I’m clear-minded, doing the right things, which I’m striving to do most days, I’ll be fine.
"Dustin Schwartz here, we're both kind of cut from the same cloth. We really see eye-to-eye." – Calvin Pickard
This segment of the Jason Gregor Show is presented by @LegacyHCYeg@Sports1440 pic.twitter.com/i7IGn1tqN2
— Oilersnation.com, Oily Since ‘07 (@OilersNation) March 13, 2025
Pickard’s start against the Ducks on March 4th was far from ideal, letting in four goals on 11 shots and getting pulled in favour of Skinner, who only fared slightly better, allowing two goals against on 16 shots.
All in all, the inconsistent play from both Pickard and Skinner have once again brought Schwartz into the spotlight, as it feels the goaltending has hurt, more than helped the team this season. Their combined .892 save percentage ranks 19th in the league this year.
Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on Twitter, currently known as X, at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.
