The Edmonton Oilers‘ clear weakness is in net. This is a Stanley Cup caliber team with possibly the worst goaltending duo in the league. Something has to change and it is likely going to. While they don’t want to make a lateral move, any move to move on from Calvin Pickard is an upgrade.
Stuart Skinner, the Oilers’ starter, has actually been solid the last few games. Giving him a partner who can compete for starts with him is the best option if it’s affordable. Elliotte Freidman said, “There’s not a lot of goalies available. There’s (Elvis) Merzlikins, there’s whatever Buffalo is willing to do, and there’s Pittsburgh.”
The problem with trades for teams right now is that there are five points separating second in the Eastern Conference from 14th. The Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins fall in the middle of that, while the Buffalo Sabres are in the best place to make a goalie trade.
Starting with Buffalo, they may be the best source that any team needing a goalie should go to. First of all, three goalies are on the active roster. Only two teams have that. The Sabres have Alex Lyon with one more year left on his deal at $1.5 million AAV, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen with three more years left on his deal at $4.75 million AAV, and Colten Ellis with another year on his deal before becoming an RFA at a cap hit of $775,000 AAV. This isn’t even mentioning Devon Levi in the AHL too. The Sabres like Ellis, and Luukkonen will be tougher to move. If the Oilers are going to target someone, it’s going to be Lyon, who has been strong everywhere he’s played recently.
The Blue Jackets have seen Jet Greaves get the 60-40 split with Merzlikins this season, and it happened quickly from what we saw at the end of last season. The future in net for Columbus is Greaves, and if they can move on from Merzlikins, they will with Ivan Fedotov and Zachary Sawchenko as options in the AHL and Pickard as a possibility to go back in a trade.
The Penguins have gotten strong play from their new goalie addition, Arturs Silovs, and he will be one of the pieces they move forward with in net. Sergei Murashov gave the Penguins a good showing earlier this season when Tristan Jarry was out, and Joel Blomqvist has had a decent trial run in the NHL with the Penguins last season. If the Oilers are going to be able to get anyone and be comfortable with it, Jarry would be the goalie.
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