Jack Campbell serves notice to Edmonton Oilers

It might only be the preseason, but Jack Campbell is making the Edmonton Oilers sit up and pay attention as he takes aim at bouncing back in 2023-24.

There were a lot of high hopes when Jack Campbell signed a five-year, $25 million deal during the offseason last year. He was expected to solidify the goaltender position for a Edmonton Oilers team with genuine Stanley Cup aspirations.

In this respect, Campbell did start the second-most games of his eight seasons in the NHL and went 21-9-4 in the process. However, if you take away his first season — when he appeared in just one game — he also had his worst-ever save percentage and Goals Against Average, at .888 % and 3.41 GAA respectively.

Fortunately for the Oilers, Stuart Skinner simultaneously established himself as a solid starter in a fine breakout campaign. He went 29-14-5 in 48 starts, producing a .913 save percentage and 2.75 GAA in the process.

This has lead to a number of questions about the future for the Oilers between the pipes. For example, were the respective campaigns one-offs, or something to anticipate over the long-term?

A revitalized Jack Campbell?

Of course, the hope for Oilers fans is that Skinner is at the beginning of a long and prosperous NHL career, while his teammate just had a one-off below-par season. In terms of the latter, Campbell has certainly shown something about himself during preseason.

The 31-year-old impressed in his first preseason appearance, versus the Calgary Flames. He saved 34 of 35 shots, as the Oilers eventually triumphed 2-1 in overtime.

This excellent form continued over into Monday night, against the Seattle Kraken. The Oilers won 4-1, despite being out-shot significantly, 33-14.

A major part of the reason was Campbell, who stopped 32 of the 33 shots he faced. Overall, he has a collective .971 save percentage and 0.98 GAA in two games, compared to .880 % and 3.00 GAA by Skinner in the same number of appearances.

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New-found appreciation by Jack Campbell

As much as Campbell has a steely determination to bounce back from last season, his positive attitude is also helping. As per Sportsnet‘s Mark Spector, speaking postgame he said:

“It was fun. Seattle played quick, they have a lot of talent. Always fun to play against them. Just fun to be out there. Pretty fast-paced, guys were blocking shots, and a couple of big plays in the crease to keep it out.”

The 2010 11th overall draft pick expanded more generally about his mindset heading into the 2023-24 campaign. He said:

“I learned so much last year, worked super hard this summer on so many things. It’s just great to be back, and there’s nothing better than being around a bunch of guys who are craving to win.”

Will it carry over into the regular season?

Of course, the counter to any success Campbell might be enjoying, is that this is just the preseason. It’s a different game when the real action begins.

However, in this respect you can actually go back to the tail-end of last season, when considering the goaltender’s potential to rebound. More specifically, during the playoffs.

While Skinner got the start in all 12 playoff games, he struggled at times, to such an extent he had to be replaced on four occasions. Campbell stepped in and performed extremely well each time, as evidenced by a .961 save percentage and 1.01 GAA.

Critics will arguably point to the four appearances effectively totaling just two games (118 minutes in all), i.e. too small of a sample size. However, it still has to count for something that Campbell can step in under such pressure-packed circumstances and provide excellent form, especially after such a challenging personal regular season.

Regardless, the situation has changed for the former Toronto Maple Leaf, who at certain points was considered a potential trade candidate. Instead, he’s now involved in a genuine battle with Skinner, to be the Oilers’ main goaltender.

Assuming Campbell does rebound and Skinner continues to develop and build on his promising 2022-23 regular season, the Oilers will be in a good position between the pipes regardless. However, all signs point towards Campbell returning to his form of previous seasons and showing why the Oilers invested in him in the first place.