The Florida Panthers placed Chris Driedger on waivers on Tuesday. The move was made as Spencer Knight reclaimed the backup spot behind Sergei Bobrovsky in the Panthers’ crease. Driedger played last year primarily with the Coachella Valley Firebirds of the AHL, in addition to two games with the Seattle Kraken.
The 30-year-old was sidelined for most of the 2022–23 season, as he suffered a gruesome knee injury at the 2022 World Championship, tearing his ACL, MCL, and PCL at the same time. He had matching .917 SV% in the AHL and NHL last season, along with taking Coachella Valley within two wins of an AHL championship.
Oilers current goaltending situation
Meanwhile, the Edmonton Oilers seem set with their goaltending depth chart of Stuart Skinner, Calvin Pickard, Oliver Rodrigue, and Collin Delia. Skinner will have the season opening start for the first time on Wednesday against the Winnipeg Jets, while Rodrigue and Delia have formed the tandem in Bakersfield, with Connor Ungar and Brett Brochu being assigned to Fort Wayne of the ECHL. Pickard has been banged up, leaving a preseason game against the Kraken and not seeing game action since.
By all reports, the Oilers are comfortable with their group, and were even ranked as the top goaltending group in the Pacific Division by goaltending guru Kevin Woodley on The Jason Gregor show. But should they be? I believe the Oilers should make a claim for Driedger to improve on their goaltending status for the following reasons.
Help with early season schedule
Goaltending help could be paramount early in the season. The Oilers play 11 games in 22 days to start the season, including two back-to-backs. Even with the rest of the shortened summer, that’s a lot of games for Skinner to handle. The first back-to-back even comes this coming weekend, with the second and third games of the season against the Chicago Blackhawks and Calgary Flames. The Oilers’ starter will need help early.
The fact that Pickard is banged up is concerning. He looked rough in the two preseason games he did play. The Oilers have cap space (more on that later) to add, and getting a stop gap option at the very least could help avoid getting in a hole early.
Driedger played two games in the preseason, winning against the Nashville Predators with one goal against and 19 saves, and winning against the Carolina Hurricanes with 31 saves on 35 shots, so he should be ready to play right away.
Skinner’s second child on the way
Stuart and his wife, Chloe, are expecting their second child in January 2025. Unfortunately for the Oilers, January is tied for the busiest month on their schedule, with 14 games over 31 days. That schedule is littered with good teams, including games against Boston, Colorado, and Vancouver.
Depending exactly when Skinner’s paternity leave falls, there could be a lot of tough starts up for grabs. With weeks with three and four games throughout the month, the Oilers will need to lean on a second and most likely a third goalie. Right now, the options for that third goalie are Rodrigue, who struggled heavily in the preseason, and Delia, who hasn’t put up an .800 SV% at any level in over two years. Claiming Driedger and either keeping him on the NHL roster, or hoping to sneak him through to Bakersfield could provide some NHL tested depth that a contending team will need.
Cap space shouldn’t be an issue
Driedger’s contract is a manageable $795K for one year. Not only is that amount fully buriable, but the Oilers have existing cap space to add him to the roster. It’s also $205K less than Calvin Pickard’s $1M AAV that will be carried for this year and next. It’s manageable to carry both, particularly consider Skinner only makes $2.6M, but the Oilers could generate even more cap space at the deadline by opting for Driedger over Pickard.
If the Oilers were to claim Driedger and subsequently waive and assign Pickard to the AHL, they could generate an enough extra cap space to add $950K worth of AAV. That extra difference could be massive when it comes to acquisition cost for retained salary or highly paid players, or could mean adding extra bodies down the stretch.
Upside to having Driedger
Last year, the Oilers did a great job sheltering Pickard. He primarily played weaker offences, where he was able to thrive. However, he struggled mightily against more adept offences. Leaving out Anaheim, Calgary, Chicago, Columbus, and Pittsburgh as the weaker offences when they played those games, Pickard finished with just three starts with a save percentage above .900. The only one in regular season was against the New Jersey Devils, who were playing their fourth game in seven nights, including the second half of a back-to-back and the tail end of a three in four. The other two starts were massive for the Oilers’ season being Games 4 and 5 of the Vancouver series.
With Skinner making 82 appearances last season, and with the shortest offseason in NHL history, Coach Kris Knoblauch will have to utilize his backup goalie in more games, and in higher leverage games.
Pickard’s track record is a career minor leaguer, with intermiten stints as a NHLer. Last year, ClearSight Analytics had Pickard at an adjusted save percentage +0.3% above expected (Skinner finished +0.7% above expected), but the game by game break downs show that was largely floated by poor teams against a Cup-contending Oilers squad. It remains to be seen if Pickard can have success against high octane offences.
Driedger meanwhile, has a lot more pedigree. The former Calgary Hitmen standout started his pro career with the Ottawa Senators organization, but established himself as a premier NHL back up in 2019–20 and 2020–21 with the Florida Panthers, posting .938 and .927 SV% in back to back years. Heading into the 2021 offseason, Driedger was considered one of the premier options for teams looking for goaltending help.
He was selected by the Seattle Kraken in the expansion draft despite that pending unrestricted free agent status, and was subsequently extended to a $9M, three-year contract. At the time, he was projected to be Seattle’s starter, but then the team also signed Phillip Grubauer after the German’s negotiations with Colorado went sideways. Both Grubauer and Driedger struggled behind what was a poor defensive environment during Seattle’s inaugural year, and then Driedger’s knee injury happened that spring at the Worlds. He has since recovered, and looks to be back to his former on-ice self based on the results.
