For the last few seasons, one of the main roster issues facing the Oilers was goaltending. On the back of Stuart Skinner the Oilers were able to reach two Stanley Cup finals in a row, but consistency with Skinner was the main point of interest. He would often follow up horrendous performances with stellar goaltending, but being on such a rollercoaster makes it difficult for a team to have confidence in the man between the pipes.
I really liked Skinner, but trading him was necessary for the team and for Skinner personally, as his lack of consistency and trade rumours were always a hot topic for the media.
This summer, the Oilers made some moves in order to somewhat address the situation by bringing in Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen, while they still have Tristan Jarry under contract for the next two seasons at 5.375 per. Here’s what they got in their three goaltenders.
I advised against picking up Jarry in a past article, (remember I'm always right?) and it seems my concerns were well founded. In 19 games Jarry went 9-6-2 with a GA of 3.86 and a save percentage of 0.858. He ended up losing the starting job to Connor Ingram, and only started one playoff game. In short, this trade did not work out at all. They essentially traded for a lesser Stuartb Skinner and they are now on the hook for two more seasons.
I don’t dislike Jarry, but this is another of the many blunders made by this front office as they essentially got worse following the trade and had to rely on Ingram to weather the storm.
Although he’s a big guy at 6 '4 and when he is on his game, looks really good due to his above average athletic ability. Despite these qualities, pucks seem to go in which should not, even when he appears to be properly facing the shooter. In that respect, he resembled Skinner but was worse. Hopefully next season he can regain some sort of form if the plan is for him to still be around.
In a previous article, (right again...) he was one of the three goalies I thought the oilers should target via the trade market. This is a good move given his youth and success at the AHL level, and his tremendous tournament at the 2020 World Junior where he posted a 0.75 GA, .964 save percentage and went 6-1-0 with three shut outs. Also, he won the Mike Richter award twice in 2022 and 2023 as being the top goalie in the NCAA for Northeastern University, the only goaltender to have done so.
At the NHL level he’s had a harder time with a career of 17-17-2, 3.29 GA and a save percentage of 0.894, but like I mentioned in my previous article, he was playing for a very bad Sabres team so there was only so much he could do.
I think he has something to give at the NHL level as he possesses above average athletic ability and intense mental focus. The only knock against him is his size at 6’0 and underwhelming stats thus far in the NHL so I’m very pleased the Oilers were able to seize this opportunity.
This is a smart move by the front office as they only needed to give up a 2028 third round pick and they finally have a young goalie in the system. They are finally being proactive in addressing that position which is a welcome site.
Now who knows if he will be able to be a full time NHL starter, but having seen him play in the NHL over the last few years I really think he has that potential. He’s a gamer and plays an aggressive brand of goaltending, a bit like Dobes, so if done right, he could be the Oilers man very soon.
With another really smart move, the Oilers were able to sign Frederik Andersen to a one year 1 million dollar deal which includes 1.8 million in performance bonuses. I love this deal as it's a low risk/high reward type of situation and Anderen has a proven track record in the NHL, especially in the playoffs.
The concern with Andersen has always been his health, as he often finds himself on the IL, which he did for the final 4 games of the Stanley Cup final with an unfortunate knee injury. Prior to his injury, he was cruising with a 13-2 record and with a 1.89 GAA and 0.910 save percentage. These are outstanding numbers with him albeit playing for a very good Canes team.
However, it does prove that Andersen does not flounder in the playoffs with a career of 59-37-0 and a 2.32 GAA and .913 save percentage. The Oilers need this, as they have often been plagued with goalies committing blunders in high pressure moments (Ty Conklin anyone?).
He will bring a calming presence to the crease, and this is something Edmonton needs. They need to feel confident with the man in the nets.
All in all, the Oilers are a better team in nets going into the 2026-2027 season, but admittedly the bar was not set very high. Ideally, I think they want to begin the season with an Andersen/Levi tandem but finding someone to take on Jarry in the trade market is next to impossible and a buy out is out of the question given the Cap ramifications.
Let’s see how this plays out but I truly think the Oilers are turning the corner when it comes to goaltending and hopefully this stability permeates throughout the entire team.
Levi is hopefully going to bring us to glory. His acquisition made me think of this so I'll leave it here.