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Seravalli: Oilers wanted to make goaltending change coming out of road trip, players stood up for Calvin Pickard
Edmonton Oilers goalies Stuart Skinner Calvin Pickard
Photo credit: James Guillory-Imagn Images
Dylan Nazareth
Nov 25, 2025, 20:00 ESTUpdated: Nov 25, 2025, 19:34 EST
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What will it take to see a shakeup between the pipes for the Edmonton Oilers?
So far this season, the team’s tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard has gotten off to an abysmal start, both below a .900 SV% and above a 3.00 GAA. With that in mind, fans have been screaming for something to be done, whether a call-up, trade, waiver claim, or anything really.
Speaking on Bleacher Report on Tuesday, insider Frank Seravalli shared that he believes the team will continue to ride with this tandem for December, but ultimately, they have to step up or something will be done.
“I believe they’ve got until Christmas,” he said. “I think Stan Bowman is gonna afford them a few week runway now that their schedule has normalized … Their goalies, including Calvin Pickard, have a few weeks to straighten out their stats and their feel and get out of this crisis of confidence that has really marred this team in their own end to get back on track.
“And if it’s not better by Christmas, I think that’s when we’re gonna start to see Stan Bowman begin to make something happen.”
Pickard in particular has played quite poorly as of late, with a 1-3-2 record over his last seven appearances, posting an .844 SV% and a 4.31 GAA. Considering those numbers, one might expect exploring the possibility of calling up Connor Ingram from the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors. According to Seravalli, the team was leaning towards pulling the trigger on that move, but Pickard’s popularity amongst the team ultimately kept him in Edmonton a little while longer.
“I think the Oilers wanted to make a change with Calvin Pickard coming out of this road trip,” he said. “I think they wanted to try and bring up Connor Ingram.
“I think Calvin Pickard is such an immensely popular player in that Edmonton Oilers locker room that their top players went to bat for Calvin Pickard, and that’s why they showed how much he means to them with their game in Tampa last week. That was the message that they wanted to deliver, we’re going to play our wheels off for Calvin Pickard. And they did that. And that’s why Calvin Pickard is sticking around, at least for the time being.”
Seravalli is referring to the team’s 2-1 overtime loss to the Tampa Lightning last Thursday. Despite the defeat, the team rallied for a strong defensive performance, and Pickard delivered his best stat line of the season, making 33 saves for a .943 SV%.
So now as the Oilers return home from a seven-game road trip, they have a chance to right the ship of their season. For their goaltending tandem, it means time is ticking to start putting out some better performances, or changes will be inevitable–no matter how popular they are.

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