Stan Bowman hasn’t been afraid to pull the trigger since becoming the Edmonton Oilers’ general manager.

He was thrown directly into the fire with the Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg offer sheets, but still managed to come out ahead by acquiring Ty Emberson and Vasily Podkolzin. Bowman has continued to tweak his roster, bringing in Trent Frederic, Jake Walman, and Isaac Howard. He added another significant name to the mix this week, acquiring Tristan Jarry — a move that carries the most weight of them all.

With Jarry coming in, it was Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak heading out the door, along with a 2029 second-round pick. Edmonton desperately needed a change in the crease and may still require further work depending on how Calvin Pickard trends. Nevertheless, while Skinner and Pickard both had strong stretches in Copper and Blue, heading into the postseason with the same duo for a third straight attempt felt far too risky. Jarry is also a better goaltender than both Skinner and Pickard, so despite what some have suggested, this isn’t a lateral move.

That said, I mentioned on Oilersnation Everyday during the Jarry trade stream that this was the riskiest trade the Oilers have made since Peter Chiarelli dealt Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson. To be clear, this trade isn’t remotely as disastrous as that one. At the time, the other 31 general managers in the league wouldn’t have even considered that deal from Edmonton’s perspective.

Edmonton hasn’t made a swing like this — especially not for a position that can’t be replaced internally —  since picking up Mattias Ekholm, but you knew exactly what you were getting in that case.

The risk here lies in the timing. Jarry’s contract expires the same year as Connor McDavid’s current deal. Edmonton has effectively tied itself to Jarry until then. That doesn’t mean the move won’t work, or that Jarry isn’t capable, but it does mean the Oilers have placed nearly all of their eggs in one basket.

They’ve committed to a goaltender with an injury history who is coming off the worst season of his career — that’s simply the reality. However, Jarry has bounced back this year and currently sits in the upper echelon across most goaltending metrics. As for the injury concerns, Edmonton has a strong medical staff and generally avoids prolonged absences. That comes down to understanding their players and treating them properly so they can stay on the ice.

You could argue the bigger risk was sticking with the same duo in net, so this isn’t meant as a criticism of Bowman. In fact, you could make the case that he has come out on the right side of every trade he’s made in Edmonton. You can argue about the contract Bowman gave Frederic, but the cost to acquire him was perfectly reasonable.

This trade wasn’t about impatience, but inevitability. The noise around the goaltending became too loud, and it didn’t matter how well or poorly Skinner or Pickard played — they became the scapegoats in some fans’ eyes.

I firmly believe acquiring Jarry was the right decision. He was the best goaltender available and is better than what Skinner would have provided Edmonton in the long run. You’d better hope Jarry can maintain this level of play and not regress to last season’s form. If that happens, then we’ll have a much bigger conversation.