Oilers: Could a trade with the Rangers solve one big problem?

The Edmonton Oilers are going to have to think outside of the box to solve their issue with goaltending for next season. Maybe the team is fine riding Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen into the new season, but honestly, I think they are missing a piece.

Goaltending could be the difference-maker for the Edmonton Oilers season.

Edmonton has their veteran leader in the net in goal. Mike Smith who is signed for the next two seasons will be leading the team in net. However Smith is 39 years old, and a team might want to have their goaltending position locked up and planned for more than just two years. That makes me think a move makes sense for this team.

So Edmonton missed out on Darcy Kuemper, there are other goalies out there. One possible goalie that could help the team would come from the New York Rangers. With Igor Shesterkin locked up for the next four seasons at over 5.5 million, New York might want to move their other young goalie Alexandar Georgiev.

Georgiev has struggled with consistency but he is a pretty good option for the Edmonton Oilers. Last season he put up a .905 save percentage and a goals-against-average of 2.71. The 25-year-old has played in 96 games over the course of his career including 19 last season.

Edmonton could try and get Georgiev from the Rangers in return for Koskinen and a second-round pick in 2023. Edmonton’s second-round pick for this coming season is tied down to the Duncan Keith trade with the Blackhawks, so going to next year’s pick might be the better call.

If New York wants a first in return I guess that could happen as well, but I hope any type of negotiations would start with just a second. Now taking Koskinen in return would give New York a solid backup option for the season and not a goaltender they would have to re-sign at the end of the deal.

Georgiev could get a pretty nice extension in Edmonton if he played well. Maybe a three-year deal worth three million or something along those lines depending on how he plays this coming season.

With the free-agent market for goalies in 2022 going to include names like Fleury, Koskinen, and Kuemper, it might be in Edmonton’s best interest to look to acquire a goalie through trade at some point.

If New York asks for more in return I think it could be worthwhile to consider adding another conditional draft pick. New York has their starting net minder, and they can take on Koskinen’s contract for one season, while this trade is kind of out of the box, I think it definitely could work out for both team’s advantage. Edmonton gets a younger goalie that they can hopefully make the starter in the next few seasons, and New York gets a couple of draft picks as well as a netminder to serve as the backup for the season.