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A solution to the Jack Campbell problem

By Phil Gretzky

Dec 1, 2022; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Edmonton Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell (36) makes a save during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 1, 2022; Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA; Edmonton Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell (36) makes a save during the first period against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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There’s no question Jack Campbell hasn’t started the season the way the Edmonton Oilers wanted him to. Of all the players that are struggling on the Edmonton Oilers, Campbell is struggling the worst.

He hasn’t had a start for awhile as the Oilers have been relying on Stuart Skinner as of late and having goalie coach Dustin Schwartz work with Campbell to try and solve his struggles. But the Edmonton Oilers are trying to be a Cup contender, so if Campbell continues to struggle sooner rather than later something will have to give and the Edmonton Oilers will have to do something – they can’t have a guy making $5 million on the roster and under performing.

A raw rookie will be burnt out if he continues to take a starter’s load without being used to an NHL level workload. After all, Skinner is used to the AHL at this point which only has a season that’s 68 games, not 82 like the NHL.

You always expect newcomers to be a bit shaky out of the gate, but typically it only takes newcomers about 10 games or so to adjust to their new team. Campbell is past using that as an excuse.

I absolutely see the strategy that Holland is going for here. It’s hard to make trades in mid-season, and in today’s NHL with more than half the teams hugging the cap it’s even more difficult. Anyone who’s struggling, the prudent thing to do is either wait them out and see if the struggling stops or have the coaching staff work more one on one with the player.

But, sooner or later something has to give. This is where a trade either mid season or at the deadline would come into play.

Here’s my proposal, with a trade partner in the St. Louis Blues:

To The St. Louis Blues

G Jack Campbell

2023 fifth round pick

$1 million in cap hit retained from Binnington’s contract

To The Edmonton Oilers

G Jordan Binnington

Essentially this is one problem child for another. Both goalies are struggling in their respective cities so perhaps a change of scenery would be good for both of them.

Campbell is struggling a little more this season which is why the Edmonton Oilers will need to throw a sweetener in the mix.

Let’s go through why this trade would work for both teams.

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