Might the Edmonton Oilers have their goaltender of the future?
The team announced on Saturday morning that they’ve come to terms with Samuel Jonsson on a three-year entry-level contract.
A product of the Byrnas Junior program in his hometown of Galve, Sweden, the Oilers selected Jonsson in the fifth round of the 2022 draft. He spent the 2022-23 season playing in Sweden’s top U20 league with Rogle BK and then made the jump to the professional level in 2023-24 with BIK Karlskoga.
Jonsson was named HockeyAllsvenskan’s Goalie of the Year in 2024-25 after going 17-6-0 with a .922 save percentage and 1.88 goals-against average over 24 games for BIK. He also posted a .913 save percentage in five qualification playoff games as Karlskoga sought promotion to Sweden’s top league.
The Oilers now have five goaltenders who are under contract for the 2025-26 season and two who are set to become free agents.
Their NHL duo of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard are both signed for one more season at $2.6 million and $1 million respectively. Connor Ungar, an undrafted NCAA signing from last spring, has one more year left on his two-year ELC, and 2023 sixth-round pick Nathaniel Day just recently signed his entry-level deal and will be turning pro next season.
Collin Delia was signed to a one-year, two-way contract last summer to be a veteran backup to Olivier Rodrigue with the Bakersfield Condors in the American Hockey League. Delia is set to become an unrestricted free agent in July while Rodrigue is going to be an RFA with the ability to go to salary arbitration.
Though it’s impossible to stay in April what Edmonton’s goaltending situation will be in March, it seems likely that Rodrigue, the team’s second-round pick from the 2018 draft who recently made his NHL debut, will again be Bakersfield’s starter next year.
The Oilers might sign another veteran to split the net with Rodrigue, giving the Condors some insurance if Edmonton needs a goalie call-up. Ungar and Day seem destined for the ECHL in 2025-26 unless the organization wants to run with a younger tandem in the AHL.
That leaves us with Jonsson, who likely has a European Assignment Clause in his contract with the Oilers. If this is the case, Jonsson would be able to play in the Swedish Hockey League or Allsvenskan next year before potentially coming overseas to start his career in North America later in the season.
