Are the Oilers Goaltending struggles a deeper rooted Issue?

The most consistent knock against the Edmonton Oilers has been their inability to ice a consistently solid goaltending tandem for more than a season at a time. This issue has constantly been linked to the players the team has iced, but with the minimal success with the turnover the team has had this issue might run deeper in the organization.

The Players

The Oilers current goaltending situation has been subject to lots of criticism over the last two seasons.  The tandem of Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen has had its moments of brilliance, however there is a laundry list of negatives associated with the two.

Mikko Koskinen has certainly showed shades of brilliance, most recently posting a .933 save percentage against the Nashville Predators, however there has been equally as many poor performances from the Finnish puck-stopper, including a .786 save percentage just seven days before the game against the Florida Panthers.

Another interesting stat related to Koskinen is the three of his four seasons in an Oilers jersey where he posted a negative goals saved above average (GSAA) meaning Mikko Koskinen stopped less pucks than the NHL average for the same amount of shots faced. There was a-lot of hope backing up Mike Smith as he entered this season coming off a 7th place Vezina finish and posting the second best save percentage of his career with a .923 in his 30 starts.

However the 39  year-old has regressed significantly, along with nagging injuries this season. Smith’s save percentage dropped down to a .898 in his 6 starts this season, missing significant time for injuries this season. Stuart Skinner has been forced into an NHL situation with the Mike Smith’s injuries and been just as inconsistent as the other two between the pipes for the Oilers.

Skinner’s .979 save percentage in an shootout victory over the Jets gave fans hope of a saviour coming up through the Oilers system, but the 23 year old showed his inexperience against Ottawa on January 15th, allowing 5 goals on the 25 shots he faced. Although Skinner has showed flashes of his ability and promise, by no means is he ready to be an NHL starter.

The Coaching

Another possible answer to the carousel of goaltenders in Edmonton could be the possible shortcomings of Oilers goalie coach Dustin Schwartz. Since Schwartz took over the Oilers Goaltending coach position during the 2014/15 season, the Oilers have iced 13 different goaltenders.

Of those 13, only 7 have had a season posting an over .910 save percentage, and of those 7 only 4 played more than 10 games in that season. (Smith 2020/21, Koskinen 2019/20, Talbot 2015/16 and 2016/17, and Scrivens 2013/14). Additionally only 3 of the 13 goalies were homegrown products of the Oilers system (Skinner, Brossoit, and Bunz).

5 of the 13 Oilers goalies during this stretch also managed to improve their save percentage by over .010 in the next season following their departures from the Oilers organization. Another note that caught my eye was that only Cam Talbot and Richard Bachman were able to string two, over .910 save percentage seasons together under Schwartz’s coaching during his 6 season tenure.

The Worse of the Two Evils

After weighing the two possible issues I feel that the more pressing issue is the coaching of Dustin Schwartz. Although the players themselves have apparent issues in their games, the inability for any of the 13 oilers goaltenders who have played in the last six years to be consistently good for the team has raised a concern far larger than just the players on the ice, but the person coaching said players.

The Fixes

The first fix I would suggest is replacing Dustin Schwartz with a name many Oilers fans recognize from his time in Edmonton, Grant Fuhr. The former Oilers goaltender has 7 years of goalie coaching experience at the NHL level between the Calgary Flames and the Arizona Coyotes, as well as a season as the Coyotes director of goaltender development.

The Oilers also tend to lean towards former players to fill similar types of positions, hiring Kevin Lowe to the alternate governor position. A name on the player side of things I’ve heard the Oilers being linked to is Marc-Andre Fleury. In Fleury’s 18 NHL seasons he has only posted 6 seasons under a .910 save percentage and is coming off back to back good season posting a .928 with the Vegas Golden Knights and a .910 this season with Chicago. Both of these options in my opinion would drastically improve the Oilers goaltending situation and make the whole team more of a competitor down the stretch.