Even with the recent acquisition of Connor Ingram, goaltending is still the biggest question mark facing the Edmonton Oilers front office ahead of the National Hockey League (NHL) 2025-26 season.
On Sunday, the NHL waiver wire was filled with plenty of interesting options for the Oilers and other teams to consider as teams make final cuts. The club themselves placed forward Max Jones on waivers.
It is one day before the roster deadline on October 6th, as teams attempt to sneak players in at the very end, hoping teams will already have their rosters set and would be unwilling to take on another player.
The entire waiver list is extensive but there are a number of names that fans have been wanting the Oilers to acquire, especially between the pipes. The two big names include: Nico Daws from the New Jersey Devils and Michael DiPietro from the Boston Bruins. There is also highly touted goalie Mads Sogaard of the Ottawa Senators on the list.
On NHL waivers today. pic.twitter.com/qHL3st2Zaz
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) October 5, 2025
Can the Oilers make a waiver claim?
According to NHL salary cap website, Puckpedia, the Oilers current cap projection is in a good place. When the season rolls in, assuming the club is able to make some paper moves and then put injured winger Zach Hyman on long-term injured reserve (LTIR) the Oilers will have some space to playa round with.
This will give them a few weeks at least to carry a third-string goalie on their active roster without worrying about being cap compliant. The, by the time Hyman is ready to return, they will have a tough decision to make between the pipes.
That is assuming that making these moves would be worth it. The three aforementioned players are the targets that make the most sense and are the ones that fans have speculated the most on.
Should the Oilers claim these goaltenders off waivers?
Nico Daws, 24 has seen his numbers steadily improve since making his NHL debut in 2021-22. Last season he played sparingly, holding a 3-1-0 record in six games with a 1.60 goals against average (GAA) and a .939 save percentage. Throughout his career he has played 52 games with a 22-23-1 record and a 2.98 GAA and .898 sav percentage, all with the Devils.
Mads Sogaard, 24, has found him self bouncing between the NHL's Ottawa Senators and their AHL affiliate, the Belleville Senators. He holds an 11-11-3 record through 25 starts with a 3.55 GAA and .879 save percentage. His best season came in 2022-23 where he played 19 games with a record of 8-6-3 and a 3.32 GAA and .889 sav percentage.
Michael DiPietro, 26, was a highly touted draft pick by the Vancouver Canucks, having played three NHL games all with the Canucks between 2018-19 and 2021-22. He holds an 0-2-0 record with a 5.25 GAA and .771 save percentage. However after his acquisition by the Bruins in 2022, he has gained a large amount of interest due to his play in the AHL with the Providence Bruins.
Since being acquired by the B's he has played 71 games in the minors with a 45-17-7 record and a 2.28 GAA and .923 save percentage. He has been nothing short of spectacular, capturing the AHL's Baz Bastien Memorial Award for 'Best Goaltender' this past season.
Although these goaltenders have all seen large amounts of hype and have all shown true promise, there is still a lot that is unknown with how well they can play at the NHL level. If the Oilers are able to make it work, there likely is not much harm in at least trying to grab one of these players.
On the other hand, the club can do what they did with Ingram, hope he slips through the waiver wire unclaimed and then trade for him soon after. Allowing both goalies to be used as an insurance policy for the team in case they struggle or face injury.
This would allow them to acquire one of these players and either immediately send them to the Bakersfield Condors (AHL) or to keep them up and send them down before 30 days (or 10 NHL games) since they passed through the first time, without having to clear again.
Doing things this way would allow the Oilers the most flexibility but of course, may come at a price, having to give up a draft pick, player, or prospect.