A third line center, a potential elite netminder, or another star for the top six. Those are all potential needs for the Edmonton Oilers. Those are all needs the team needs, but what is their number one priority?
In an ideal world, the Oilers are going to try and address all of these needs. But what if they can’t? What if they are not willing to move on from their picks or prospects to get the return on these different components for their team? Today let’s talk about what hole needs to be filled first.
Let’s start off talking about each potential area the team needs to address:
1. The Goaltending Question.
Mike Smith has missed the majority of this season with an injury and then has seen some setbacks before getting close to returning. With that alone, the team has had to rely upon Mikko Koskinen in the net.
He started the year off pretty strong, but heck so did everyone on this team when they won their first handful of games. Koskinen’s numbers are starting to return to his normal performance… which is not that good.
On the other hand, Smith being out has given the team an opportunity to see Stuart Skinner in action. Skinner has looked pretty impressive at times and probably will get an opportunity to be the full-time guy in a few years. There is depth here in the net, but getting an elite star netminder that can steal games before the playoffs is a need for this team, especially if Smith is still struggling to get back in the next few months.