The NHL returns this month, and the Edmonton Oilers have yet to make a move to acquire a new goaltender.
For two straight seasons, the tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard has been just enough to make it to the finals but still fell short of Edmonton’s ultimate goal. Skinner’s inconsistencies, particularly in 2024-25, led everyone to believe that an upgrade would be made this offseason.
However, the goalie free agent market was extremely thin, and trades have been hard to come by, so the Oilers remain where they left off in June. While that’s the case right now, general manager Stan Bowman is certainly going to continue scouring the market until they find a dance partner.
Given that, James Mirtle of The Athletic suggested seven netminders that they could target in his recent mailbag article, which saw John Gibson, Cam Talbot, Semyon Varlamov, Connor Ingram, Petr Mrazek, Tristan Jarry, and Elvis Merzlikins among those mentioned.
“Detroit, I guess, could move off of either John Gibson or Cam Talbot if they struggle, with top prospect Sebastian Cossa on the way. But it really feels like the Red Wings will be in a playoff race late in the season, with some of their young players taking the next step. The Islanders and Mammoth potentially have extra goalies, assuming improved health for Semyon Varlamov and Connor Ingram, but do either of them offer an upgrade to Edmonton? Vancouver has a lot of dough committed to their tandem, but they just signed them and gave both Thatcher Demko and Kevin Lankinen no-movement clauses. Then there’s Anaheim with Petr Mrazek as the backup?” Mirtle wrote.
“Pittsburgh and Columbus could trade their “starters” (Tristan Jarry and Elvis Merzlikins), but given their massive struggles, you again wonder if there’s any tangible improvement there,” Mirtle added.
“How come NFL, MLB and NBA fans never complain about no-tax states?”https://t.co/axgDcfoERc
— James Mirtle (@mirtle) August 27, 2025
Both Skinner and Pickard will be entering the final seasons of their three-year, $7.8 million and two-year, $2 million contracts, respectively, in 2025-26.
This could drag out until the trade deadline
The Edmonton Oilers and their fans would love nothing more than to bring in a reliable goaltender before the start of the season, but at this point, that feels far-fetched.
Teams around the league are in no rush to move players, especially with the salary cap increase providing them with plenty more flexibility to retain their own
That could result in Edmonton having to roll out Skinner and Pickard to start, and if they deem an upgrade is still necessary, then expect action to pick up closer to the trade deadline.
