It has been a rough year for the Edmonton Oilers and especially their goaltenders. The spotlight has been firmly fixed on them and their performance all season and will continue to be according to rumours by NHL insiders.
It seems that every day there are new reports, rumours, and speculation involving the Oilers crease, naming new targets for the club to acquire. It is especially amplified as starting goalie Stuart Skinner sees his save percentage fall on the season, currently sitting at .885.
Speaking on the Oilers goaltending at Bleacher Report, NHL insider Frank Seravalli dropped a couple bombshells. Revealing possible intentions of the Oilers front office and providing the timeline before changes are made. He specifically spoke about backup netminder, Calvin Pickard.
Stan Bowman giving Oilers goalies 'until Christmas'
Seravalli revealed that he believes the Oilers goalies have "got until Christmas. I think Stan Bowman is gonna afford them a few week runway." Citing in large part the tough schedule that the Oilers have had with 16 of their first 24 games on the road. "They now have six of their next seven at home and they will wrap their entire Eastern Conference travel schedule," by December 18th.
"I think they've got until Christmas." @frank_seravalli lays out what could be ahead for Edmonton's goaltending tandem 🥅 pic.twitter.com/zwWglOImMM
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 25, 2025
As Seravalli notes, it is not an excuse but now will be a good time to see the team with a higher degree of normalcy. They have not played well up until this point but it is imperative that the front office not overreact on a team that has made it to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals.
Seravalli added an interesting tidbit saying "I think the Oilers wanted to make a change with Cal Pickard, coming out of this road trip" speaking about the Oilers season high seven game road trip they just returned from. He added on "I think, they wanted to try and bring up Connor Ingram."
Connor Ingram, being the goaltender they acquired from the Utah Mammoth in September. He has been down in the American Hockey League with the Oilers' affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors all season. However, even he has struggled with a 2-3-2 record in seven games, with a 3.61 goals against average and .871 save percentage.
Oilers need to turn season around
The fact that the Oilers were reportedly considering turning to an AHL goalie who is struggling shows just how poor this season has been for the club up to this point. It also shows how desperate the Oilers front office is to fix this issue but also how tied their hands are.
The team currently sits tight to the $95.5 million NHL salary cap ceiling, making it hard to make a tangible upgrade between the pipes. This is why the team added Ingram and had the Mammoth retain money on his contract, so that they could fit him onto their payroll easily.
It is good news and should be comforting to Oilers fans knowing that the club recognizes that there is an issue. It is also contrary to recent reporting by NHL insider Elliotte Friedman. However, they will need to be careful to not let this season get away from them before making a move if the team still has Stanley Cup aspirations.