Should The Oilers Send Jack Campbell To The AHL?

Jack Campbell has struggled since deciding to join the Oilers this past off-season on a five year, 25 Million dollar contract. As a projected starter coming into the 2022-23 season, Campbell has only started 16 games for the Blue and Orange, with underwhelming stats. Going into the game against the Islanders, which will be his 17th start of the season, Campbell has a .877SV% with a 3.80GAA. It’s no secret that he has lost the starting job to Stuart Skinner, who will likely make a run at the Calder Trophy for the league’s best rookie this season.

The Oilers made an investment in the off-season that so far has looked like an epic failure. Their idea was to sign a goaltender who had an extremely strong season to fill their need of an experienced goalie that hasn’t battled too many injuries and could be relied upon come playoff time, but Campbell has been anything but. Oilers fans are calling for Holland to pull the trigger on a trade and give up on him but I don’t understand that logic whatsoever. Nobody will take on that contract and even if they do, the Oilers won’t receive much in return if anything at all.

Instead, a conditioning stint in the minors makes so much more sense. The Red Wings have done something similar with Alex Nedeljkovic who is in the exact same boat as Campbell, rough start but team isn’t ready to give up on him just yet. Sending Campbell down for a couple weeks would almost certainly boost his confidence, and allow him to reset at a lower level before coming back up. Calling up Oliver Rodrigue for that period of time wouldn’t hurt the team in any way either, as he has been solid with the Condors, and could be a solid backup for Skinner.

It’s easily a win-win scenario for the Oilers. Skinner has been hot and can be trusted between the pipes for Campbell’s minor league stint, while Rodrigue can be trusted to stand in as a backup. Campbell plays in Bakersfield, gets his confidence back after three or four games and makes his return to the Oilers. If it pans out, you’ve got two strong goalies who will lead your team deep into the playoffs. If it doesn’t, you know you can continue to rely on Stuart Skinner as a starter for the foreseeable future.