As we wrote on Wednesday, the Edmonton Oilers have entered the NHL Christmas break in their best position since Connor McDavid started playing for them. The team's 21-11-2 record represents their most points and best winning percentage since the 2015-16 season.
With 11 wins in their past 13 games, the Oilers are on a roll at the moment and look well-placed to make a run at a second consecutive trip to the Stanley Cup Final. The question is though, is this current roster strong enough to finally bring the Stanley Cup back to Edmonton for the first time since the 1989-90 campaign?
Certainly, it can never hurt to strengthen the roster were possible, which brings us to an interesting article on Thursday, by Pierre LeBrun and Chris Johnston for The Athletic (subscription required). The article represents part one of where they predict the NHL's top trade targets will end up prior to the Mar. 7 deadline.
Of particular significance, Johnston and LeBrun have both picked one of their first six trade targets to end up with the Oilers. More specifically, Johnston has selected the Anaheim Ducks' John Gibson to end up in Edmonton, while LeBrun has gone with David Savard of the Montreal Canadiens.
An upgrade at goalie for the Oilers?
For this article we're going to focus on Gibson, with Johnston believing the goalie would be a sensible rather than a priority acquisition for the Oilers, representing an upgrade on Calvin Pickard as Stuart Skinner's main backup. Reference is made to the team's poor save percentage, which at the time of writing is ranked 22nd in the NHL at .897 percent.
Further, we can appreciate that Gibson has excellent career stats of a 2.90 Goals Against Average (GAA) and .910 save percentage over 478 NHL starts and 489 total games. However, there are a couple of reasons why we would be reluctant for the Oilers to acquire him, while not outright saying they should steer clear altogether.
The first is that the 31-year-old has not quite been up to his usual standard the past two seasons in Anaheim. Back in 2022-23 he set career-worsts of 31 losses and a 3.99 GAA, while last season his .888 save percentage was also the worst of his time in the NHL, and as a result he is now the backup in Anaheim.
The second relates to Gibson's annual cap hit of $6.4 million, which still has two seasons to run after this one. It's a lot of money to consider for an ageing goalie, especially when you consider the Oilers only currently have just under $1.3 million of cap space, as per PuckPedia.
On the positive side of things with Gibson
Now in respect of us not outright saying the Oilers should give the three-time NHL All-Star a wide berth, we do have counters to our two reasons for being reluctant about acquiring him. On the first reason, while he is now the main backup, it's not all bad.
Consider that Gibson has enjoyed a renaissance of sorts this season, with a 2.93 GAA and .906 save percentage in 12 starts. These are his best stats in both categories since 2018-19, albeit in more limited action, while -- for what it's worth -- his save percentage specifically is better than what Skinner and Pickard have produced so far this season.
As for the financial aspect of things it should be noted that, for example, acquiring Gibson around the halfway point of the season would only mean a $3.2 million cap hit as opposed to his full $6.4 million. (Albeit this would jump right back up to the full amount next season.) In addition, it is worth noting the Oilers are projected to have just under $3.497 million of cap space at the trade deadline.
Finally on the financial side of things, let's also factor in Evander Kane and his $5.125 million cap hit, which are both currently on long-term injured reserve. One of the scenarios involving the polarising winger involves him not returning until the playoffs, which essentially means an additional $5.125 million for the Oilers to use to strengthen their roster.
Ultimately, if we're being honest we don't expect Gibson to end up in Edmonton, with us believing the Oilers are comfortable with their current goalie options and not wanting to put more pressure on themselves with next season's salary cap. At the same time however, you can never say never, especially if Skinner or Pickard suffer a serious injury of any kind between now and Mar. 7.