Based on the reaction to Saturday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, one would think the Edmonton Oilers have the worst goaltenders in the NHL.
The truth is it’s far from it, and while there’s been tough games for Stuart Skinner this season, he and Calvin Pickard have formed one of the league’s most formidable duos as of late. The Oilers’ team save percentage sits at .898 on the season, ranking 14th in the league.
That low number, however, is largely due to a disastrous start to the season. In the Oilers first 21 games of the season through Nov. 22, their team save percentage of .875 was the second-worst rate in the league. The Oilers have played much better as a whole since then, and so has Skinner and Pickard, posting a .913 save percentage, the third-best rate in the league.
The truth of the matter is there aren’t many goaltenders who could shake loose this season. Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli had just one on his most recent trade targets list: Flames backup Dan Vladar, who wouldn’t be an upgrade over either of Edmonton’s current netminders.
Former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton joined Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk on Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff LIVE, where he said there aren’t many options out there right now.
Seravalli: Let’s talk about some contending teams. There hasn’t been much activity on the goalie market, but, if you were one contending team, who would you pinpoint as a team that should be interested in upgrading their goaltending situation?Hutton: You know, this is a really tough question right now. You look at a number of teams, and they kind of have ‘their guy’. Now, I look at where they’re going to go with their backup, and a lot of teams have to make some moves somewhere else.I guess, one worrisome spot for me would be the Carolina Hurricanes. Just with Frederik Andersen’s health, Pyotr Kochetkov has been good at time, but there’s always been that hump come playoff time. So, that would be a team that I would suspect to look to add maybe, depending on Andersen’s health.And, then again, the Edmonton Oilers. Stuart Skinner has been very very good this year. He’s come back, he’s playing well, but there’s that Jekyll and Hyde. Do they go and get a rental? There’s some guys that have played well, who have expiring contracts, but I know they’re looking to add in different areas.Normally, there’s a team that lights up the board, but right now, it seems like every team has their guy, and it’s more depending on who is playing well at the right time for the majority of these teams.
Other news and notes…
- Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman will have an in-person hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety after “roughing” Ottawa Senators forward Tim Stutzle. The incident happened off a faceoff in the second period, when Stutzle pushed down on the back of Stutzle’s neck, pushing him into the ice face-first. Hartman received a minor penalty for roughing, another for embellishment, as well as a match penalty.
- Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice became the fourth head coach in NHL history to reach 900 career wins on Saturday, as his club beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-1. He joined Barry Trotz (914), Joel Quenneville (969), and Scotty Bowman (1,244) in the elusive club. He already ranks second in terms of regular season games coached with 1,901, behind just Bowman’s 2,141 and will take sole possession of second next year in terms of seasons coached, with it becoming his 28th.
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@thenationnetwork.com.
