The Oilers entered the season with a tandem of Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi, as their newly acquired starter Frederik Andersen is still hampered by the knee injury he sustained in the Stanley Cup Finals of last year. With Andersen out until December, it will be up to Jarry and Levi to keep the puck out of Edmonton’s net.
After three games, and I know it early, Levi looks waaaaaaayyy better. This is why I'm really perplexed by Babcock’s decision to give Jarry two starts on the upcoming road trip. You can check out the details in the Edmonton Journal but all I have to say is why?
Can we please stop this nonsense? I understand the idea of getting Jarry going, but he in no way should be getting more starts than Levi at any given point. I’m not just basing this on one game this year either. This is based on what he did with the Oilers last year. What he did with the Penguins the last few years.
Can Jarry be good? Yes he can. He can also be really really bad, and we've seen it time and time again. Now, if I get proven wrong and I eat my words, that's great, but just looking at last year, Jarry played in 19 games going 9-6-2 for the Oilers were he posted a 3.86 GAA and 0.858 save pct. He ended up losing the starting job to Connor Ingram who is now retired. The same pattern occurred in Pittsburg where he lost the starting position more than once and he even ended up in the AHL during a part of the 2024-2025 season.
I have nothing against Jarry, but Levi should be getting 2-3 starts for every game Jarry starts. He’s a young goalie who has a ton of upside and he played a fantastic game against Seattle. Think of it….when was the last time a goalie played a fantastic game in an Oilers uniform? Honestly I think it was Stuart Skinner during the finals.
It’s time to give Levi the keys and to let him run with it. Honestly, it can’t get any worse than what we have already seen.