On yesterday’s edition of Sportsnet’s 32 Thoughts Podcast, hosts Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman discussed the Edmonton Oilers at length. They talked at length about the Oilers’ goaltending situation, what management might be thinking, and sentiments around the league. Here’s what they went over.
Jack Campbell: the person vs. the player
Anyone who has ever paid any attention to Jack Campbell knows he is one of the league’s great people and personalities. His teammates love him no matter where he plays, he’s a great locker room guy, and it’s so easy to cheer for a guy like him.
Unfortunately, in a results oriented business like the NHL, teams must separate the person from the player, and that’s why the Campbell situation is so tough.
A lot of people felt bad for Jack Campbell, the person. Pulled again over the weekend. You cheer for the person, one of the great guys in the game, but again it’s a results oriented business.
The problem is with Campbell, they were going to call him up two weeks ago and he had a terrible start on the Saturday night. I think they were considering the idea of easing him back in on the road, and now he got pulled in a game on Saturday night.
Tt was always about, let’s call Campbell back up, but unfortunately for him he just keeps struggling down there. The Oilers are a bit stuck. I don’t have a good answer on this one.
Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast
With a lack of true NHL calibre organizational depth at the goalie position, it makes sense that the Oilers were truly hoping Campbell would find his game in Bakersfield and come back better than ever. The fact that he hasn’t been able to do that has really derailed their plans, even if the plan wasn’t great to begin with.
Calvin Pickard and Olivier Rodrigue
Behind Stuart Skinner and Campbell are Calvin Pickard and Olivier Rodrigue. The latter two have done very well in the AHL this year, but as Pickard has shown us, the NHL is a whole other animal. That being said, Pickard did have a good run that was stomped out by the Florida Panthers, but that mini run was huge for the timeline.
Calvin Pickard won the first two games. It wasn’t a great game against Florida, but the whole team didn’t have a good game. It’s tough when Florida doesn’t score for two straight games and then they pump five past you. It’s a night you’re sitting going “what happened”?
Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast
Do the Oilers turn to Rodrigue in the interim to see if he can do better than Pickard? It’s a no loss option, an internal option, and with the holiday roster freeze approaching it seems like a logical move.
Antti Raanta waiver claim
The Carolina Hurricanes placed Antti Raanta on waivers a few days ago, and the Oilers were mentioned as a team that may be interested in claiming him.
I was wondering if the Oilers were going to pick up Raanta. They were very guarded about it, obviously they didn’t do it, I understand why they didn’t do it. They have to be looking out there at what are our other options? The one thing, to his credit is, Pickard bought them time with a couple of good performances. Now what are you thinking? You don’t want to burn out Skinner.
Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast
Raanta has really struggled this season, and may not be an upgrade on Campbell at this point. Still, with a reasonable cap hit of $1.5M, it was conceivable that the Oilers would put in a claim and try their luck. It didn’t happen, and we’re still speculating on what they’ll do.
We talked about managing Skinner’s workload and how essential it was not to burn him out. It’s a real challenge with this team right now, and it’s not going to go away until they find a suitable backup goalie or tandem option to ride the sidecar.
The Oilers are actively looking for help
Perhaps the most important segment from the podcast was a short one.
I have no doubt the Oilers are looking, no doubt at all.
Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast
At least management knows this is a top priority and are actively looking for help between the pipes. Marek and Friedman also touched on the trade market around the NHL right now, and noted that goalies are dominating discussions at this juncture.
This has been hinted by several insiders recently, too. Kevin Weekes has used “The Goalie Carousel” in several tweets lately, including this one.
The trade winds are starting to blow, and the Oilers are right in the eye of the storm.
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