The last thing a team wants or needs prior to the beginning of the regular season, is a serious injury to one of their top depth options. However, this was exactly the scenario facing the Edmonton Oilers following Saturday night.
The Oilers were just past the midway point of the opening period, in their preseason game versus the Seattle Kraken. Blue liner Phil Kemp was pushed into teammate Calvin Pickard, who fell over and in the process hit his head on one of his posts.
As a result of the incident, Pickard was forced to leave the ice and subsequently did not return. At the time the game was tied at 1-1, with the goalie having saved seven of the eight shots he had faced.
Knoblauch discusses' Pickard's status
After the game -- which finished 5-4 to the Oilers after an enthralling comeback from 4-2 down -- head coach Kris Knoblauch spoke to the media about his goalie. He advised Pickard was undergoing further evaluation, and an update would come at some point during Sunday.
An update did indeed come on the Sunday, with Knoblauch again speaking to the media. As per the Oilers' media platforms, he said: "(He's) good. We expect him to be back on the ice in a few days. ... His neck is pretty sore. Obviously we're being cautious, but he should be alright."
This is of course a great relief to the Oilers and their fans, after Pickard provided excellent backup to Stuart Skinner last season. He went 12-7-1 in 20 starts (23 appearances overall), in the process recording a .909 save percentage and 2.45 Goals Against Average (GAA).
Impressive playoff debut
The 32-year-old continued to offer tremendous relief for Skinner during his first ever playoff experience, going 1-1 in two starts, producing a .915 save percentage and 2.21 GAA (which incorporated one relief appearance). As a result, he was signed to a two-year, $2 million extension to return to Edmonton.
Certainly, not having Pickard for the start of the 2024-25 regular season would have been a major challenge for the Oilers, both from a quality depth and financial perspective*. Instead, they have one less thing to worry about, as they prepare for their home opener on Oct. 9, against the Winnipeg Jets.
* Olivier Rodrigue is third on the Oilers' goalie depth chart, followed by Collin Delia. As for the financial aspect, at the time of writing they have $945,833 of projected available cap space and 22 of 23 roster spots filled.