In part 2 of The Problem with the Edmonton Oilers, I’m going to discuss goaltending and part 3 will talk about the front office as this article went longer than intended.
I went into the 2025-2026 season optimistic that Stuart Skinner would be able to find his game and be a reliable goalie for the high offense Edmonton Oilers. Unfortunately, this has not been the case. This really sucks as he’s a good guy and on a personal level I’m rooting for this guy, but it simply has not been good enough. I think he has all the tools to be a great goalie, but consistency just is not there. Too many weak goals and a lot of suspect decisions with handling the puck. Now, like I spoke about in my previous article, the Oilers defensive structure is a mess and I really think this is not helping his confidence whatsoever.
Furthermore, if you take a look at the goalie market, there really is not much there and the Oilers don’t really have much to give up if they go after a team’s number one. Also, I doubt many teams would be willing to give up their starter at this point. So Edmonton is a little stuck here. At the beginning of the season, I suggested the Oilers try to acquire Dobeš from the Habs in a sneaky move, but with his strong play that’s no longer in the cards.
The only option I can see is Juuse Saros, but again the price would be high. The Oilers don’t have a 2026 first round pick and trading there 2027 might not be the best idea given their need to replenish their prospect pool. Also, I’m not really sure which roster player they can afford to part with to actually interest Nashville who want to get younger I have no doubt. Unless they want to part with the Nuge, a prospect and a 2027 first rounder, I don’t see something happening. And if they trade their 2027 pick, the 2026 belonging to San Jose due to the Waleman is no longer top 12 protected. Also Saros has a full No Trade Clause…so yeah … .anyone has any ideas?
When I watched him play in New York I thought Cam Talbot was an excellent goalie. When he came over to the Oilers I thought he played some great hockey and seemed to do well with the Oilers run and gun style. I really think he has some game left in him and having both him and Skinner would not be worse than what the Oilers have right now. Also, the cost of acquiring him would not be detrimental to the future. He has a cap hit of 2.5 million which expires at the end of the year so if it doesn’t work out, let him walk.
There’s no ideal solution here, but those would be my best ideas. Any thoughts on who the Oilers should target?