The Edmonton Oilers have had goaltending issues so far this season, they need to improve the position if they want to be a Stanley Cup contender.
With struggles in Mike Smith’s game and Mikko Koskinen being unable to handle a large workload, right now may be the perfect time for the Oilers to trade for a goalie. One of the goalies that would be available could be the New York Rangers’, Alexandar Georgiev.
The Rangers currently have two young goalies on their roster and both are successful in their NHL careers so far. One major difference between Igor Shesterkin and Alexandar Georgiev is that Shesterkin has a contract past this season.
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Although Georgiev’s contract expires at the end of this season he is a restricted free agent. This means the team who has him at the time of the expiry will still own his rights. This is why I think the Edmonton Oilers would prefer to trade for him over some other goaltending options.
If the Oilers were to bring in a pending UFA goalie there is a chance he walks and they end up in the exact same spot they are in now. With Georgiev you could lock up your goaltender of the future for many years. This is something that has been missing from this organization for a long time.
Would Georgiev be the starter?
If the Edmonton Oilers were to bring in Georgiev this year I don’t think he would be the for sure starter on the Oilers. So far this season his stats aren’t better than Mikko Koskinen’s. Koskinen has the best stats of the Oilers goalies, so I made the comparisons between those two.
| Player | Tm | Lg | Pos | Season | Age | GP | GS | W | L | T/O | GA | SA | SV | SV% | GAA | GA%- | GSAA | SO | PIM | MIN | QS | QS% | RBS | GPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexandar Georgiev | NYR | NHL | G | 2021-22 | 25 | 21 | 18 | 7 | 8 | 2 | 55 | 532 | 477 | .897 | 3.05 | 113 | -6.3 | 0 | 0 | 1083 | 9 | .500 | 5 | 2.3 |
| Mikko Koskinen | EDM | NHL | G | 2021-22 | 33 | 32 | 30 | 19 | 9 | 3 | 95 | 986 | 891 | .904 | 3.05 | 105 | -4.8 | 1 | 4 | 1868 | 13 | .433 | 5 | 5.0 |
Provided by Stathead.com
Taking a look at all the stats from the two, Georgiev and Koskinen. You can see that there is not much difference between the two of them. So trading Koskinen for Georgiev wouldn’t make much sense. I think if the Oilers make this trade this season they would send Mike Smith the other way. That would make the goaltending duo better than it currently is.
Would the Rangers make the move?
With the Rangers being in a playoff race they could use the veteran presence that Mike Smith brings. He wouldn’t have to play as many games in New York as Igor Shesterkin can handle a full time starting load.
This trade seems like a win-win right now. This trade wouldn’t Smith straight across for Georgiev, the Edmonton Oilers would likely need to add something to the deal to make it work. If these teams can make this deal work I could see both teams being happy at the end of the day.
My major concern is what extra the Oilers need to add in. Holland may need to trade a piece of the future to make this trade work. I think the fact that Georgiev is under control will make the trade worth it.