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Oilers: 4 trade targets to solve goaltender woes

By Paul Taylor

Apr 17, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft during the first period against the Los Angeles Kings in game one of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 17, 2023; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Edmonton Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft during the first period against the Los Angeles Kings in game one of the first round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Rogers Place. Mandatory Credit: Walter Tychnowicz-USA TODAY Sports /
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Edmonton Oilers Juuse Saros
Apr 13, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Nashville Predators goaltender Juuse Saros (74) is congratulated by center Cody Glass (8) after an overtime win against the Minnesota Wild at Bridgestone Arena. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports /

As the Edmonton Oilers desperately attempt to get their season on track, we look at four potential trade options to resolve their goalie issues.

Well, it’s fair to state the goaltender situation for the Oilers is a bit of a mess right now. The position is dead last in the NHL with a .864 save percentage and second-worst with a 4.27 Goals Against Average (GAA).

Jack Campbell has paid the price, with the Oilers placing him on waivers for the purpose of assignment. However, where do they go from here, given Stuart Skinner has been just as poor thus far in 2023-24?

A lot of folks consider it too early to be looking at a trade, but these are desperate times for the Oilers. Considered a trendy pick to win the Stanley Cup preseason, they have equalled their worst ever start to a season with a 2-8-1 record through 11 games.

No one would have expected Campbell to be placed on waivers so soon, with the exception of Sportsnet‘s Mark Spector, but they did. As such, here are four goaltending options the Oilers should consider pursuing a trade for:

1) Juuse Saros

Want to get an idea of how good Juuse Saros is? Consider that his .911 save percentage and 2.73 GAA so far this season, would both project to be the worst of his nine seasons in the NHL. (We’re not including his rookie campaign of 2015-16, when his .870 save percentage and 3.10 GAA were compiled in the grand total of one game.)

Critics could point towards Saros’ record of 4-6-0 in his 10 starts to date, but as per his stats, this reflects more on the Predators as a team rather than him specifically. For his career, he has a 151-101-27 record in 279 starts and 296 games overall.

Although limited to just 17 games — including 10 starts — in the playoffs, the 28-year-old has also performed admirably well. Despite a 3-7-0 record, he has produced a .914 save percentage and 2.63 GAA.

The only real knock against Saros is his lack of size, at 5 ft 11 in and 180 lbs. However, he has excellent movement and reflexes, while being remarkably durable and consistent when called upon.

In terms of the Finland native’s contract, he would bring the exact same cap hit as Campbell at $5 million. However, he does become an unrestricted free agent (UFA) after the conclusion of next season.

This would still mean the Oilers needing to offer at least a player from their current roster in turn, to help mitigate their tenuous salary cap situation. (Unless the Predators are prepared to retain part of his salary for some reason.) And this is before we even get to whether or not the Predators would even enter into negotiations.

In this respect, it really comes down to whether or not the Predators believe they can challenge for the playoffs in 2023-24. If so, it will be extremely difficult to persuade them to give up their number one goaltender.

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