Holland seemed to think that Mike Smith simply needed to get into more games, after missing most of the first half of the season due to injury. The Oilers General Manager and the now fired coach of the team, Dave Tippett thought that Smith would return to the goalie he was last season; a 0.923SV% netminder.
It was a flawed and ridiculous notion.
Smith instead, has returned to what he was for the two years prior to that, an aged barely .900SV% netminder and somehow he has gotten worse.
Last night the Oilers played a strong road game against one of the best teams in the NHL in the Tampa Bay Lightning. Edmonton controlled the pace of play and outshot the Lightning 30-23. Their defensive zone coverage was for the most part very tight and prevented all of Tampa's weapons from getting too many high danger chances off.
Despite all of that the Oilers lost the game 4-3 (5-3 with an empty net). It was a game that Edmonton should have at bare minimum gotten one point out of but once again were let down by Mike Smith who allowed 2 goals on the first 5 shots of the game. Smith has allowed 8 goals on the last 29 shots he has faced. That isn't just a slump those are numbers that should have Smith sent packing to the AHL.
I would love to know the behind the scenes prior to the game against the Lightning. Was Smith given the start once more because Woodcroft wanted to give him the chance to bounce back? Does WC believe he is a better option than Koskinen right now? Or is Ken Holland telling him that Smith has to play. I don't have the answers and apparently neither does management.
This team can no longer afford to wait. Right now this team is playing great hockey and is able to keep up with the best teams in the league but are being crippled by their goaltending. Holland needs to make a deal to acquire a goalie. He put the team into this position and it's his responsibility to get them out of it now.
For starters, Stuart Skinner needs to be called up today and likely start the next game on Saturday against the Panthers. Fly Skinner across the country and keep him in the NHL. Skinner is the only goalie this season who has above a .900SV% (0.913 to be exact).
From there, Holland needs to call every selling team in the NHL and find a replacement starter. Just for arguments sake, let's talk about Marc-Andre Fleury. Of all the other teams currently in or fighting for a playoff position, which of them need to spend assets to acquire Fleury?
Florida, Tampa, Boston, Carolina, Pittsburgh, New York, Colorado, St. Louis, Nashville, and Calgary already have their starter position firmly locked up.
Vegas might be in trouble with Lehner but the GM denies any interest in Fleury nor can I imagine Fleury would return considering how abruptly he was cast aside.
Minnesota and Washington could be suitors if they believe they need a more legitimate starter from the tandem setups they are currently running.
The last team I see in as much need as Edmonton would be Toronto as Jack Campbell is absolutely floundering as of late.
There are a very limited number of teams looking for a starter as most legitimate playoff teams already have a starter they expect to be their guy in the post season. The fact that there are so few buyers should give the Oilers more power in negotiations as there shouldn't be as much of a bidding war.
Fleury is one legitimate option but who else is out there that could truly move the dial for the Oilers? I do not see some of the other names brought up like Korpisalo or Martin Jones as dial movers.
Semyon Varlamov: The 33 year old netminder has lost the starting position to the young Ilya Sorokin but has still posted a 0.916SV% and a 2.57GAA in 14 games this season. Varlamov is still signed for next season with a cap hit of 5 million and I can imagine the Islanders would like to spend that money more wisely than on a backup netminder. Last season Varlamov put up a 0.929SV% in 36GP and the year prior put up a 0.914SV% in 45 games player.
Braden Holtby: The 32 year old netminder only has a cap hit of 2 million for this season before he is set to hit UFA. In 23 games this season, Holtby has a 0.912SV% but his GAA at 2.78 is a bit high. For Holtby to be moved, one would guess the Stars would need to drop further out of contention which means they would likely not make a decision until close to the deadline, something the Oilers can't afford to wait until.
James Reimer: The least enticing name on this list. At 33 years of age, Reimer is signed for this season and next at 2.25 million. In 30 games this season Reimer has posted a 0.912SV% and a 2.91GAA. Reimer is far more of a backup than a legitimate starter and the Oilers have enough backups in the system.
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The best option potentially available on the market remains Fleury but aside from that I think Varlamov could be the next best bet for Edmonton. The Islanders are in a positon where they are going to want to trade him, his numbers have been solid both in New York and in prior years with the Avalanche who play a similar systems game to the Oilers.
In a perfect scenario I would deal Koskinen and a prospect for Varlamov and then in the off-season try and deal Varlamov for an asset (providing he plays well) and go big game hunting somewhere else (Kuemper).
These are just some options but the fact remains the Oilers can't keep believing Smith is going to suddenly become something he has shown he is not. Holland needs to address this now.