The goaltending position is probably the hottest topic in Oil Country over the past couple of seasons. Two straight years (mostly) of the Stuart Skinner/Calvin Pickard tandem for the Edmonton Oilers, and although the team has two straight years of Stanley Cup Final appearances to show for it, they are not the reason the team has faced success. In fact, it’s quite the opposite at times. The goaltending has been, on paper at least, holding the team back.
When the team is struggling to keep afloat, often it is caused or contributed to by the goaltending. It would usually classify as serviceable. But it has rarely been a gamechanger for the Oilers, and the performances are anything but consistent. We never know if we are going to get one goal against in four games Skinner or five games of an .850 save percentage. And that wild fluctuation makes it impossible to develop a fluid system in front of him.
Last season, the Oilers’ team save percentage was 23rd in the league at .903. That number was the third worst amongst playoff qualifying teams, ahead of just the Montreal Canadiens and Carolina Hurricanes. Perhaps the most troubling situation for the Oilers that frequently caused issues was the atrocious performance on the penalty kill. It started the season last year as the worst in NHL history and finished better, but still near the bottom. The team’s save percentage on the penalty kill was 26th in the league at .834, while holding a high danger save percentage on the penalty kill that sat 27th at .734.
The front office knows that this is an issue. They know that they needed to do something to try and address this. Make no mistake, Pickard’s 7–1 record and Skinner’s 10 goals against in seven games in the series against the Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars in the playoffs both helped propel the Oilers to postseason success. But the team’s overall .882 save percentage in the playoffs was a full 3.5% below their Cup Final opponent Florida Panthers. Just one area with a stark difference in performance.
The goalie market was incredibly weak this offseason. As much as us Oilers fans can hope and dream for a big name goalie to find his way to Edmonton via trade, the chances of that are incredibly unlikely. Thus, we have found ourselves in a situation where the front office has publicly given a vote of confidence to the goalies, suggesting they may not need to make a change to the personnel. The have, however, finally let Dustin Schwartz walk after his contract expired this offseason. Schwartz was the much-maligned goalie coach of the team for the past decade.
Some fans are concerned that this will not suffice. The team needed to do more, this small change to just the coach will not create enough momentum to significantly improve two players who are now multi-year veterans with established playstyles.
To gauge the fan reaction to the most controversial roster hole in the lineup, we took to X this week to let the fans have their say on whether or not a new goalie coach is enough to create the necessary changes to the goaltending position to carry this team to success.
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They should have tried harder to get a new starting goalie
Skinner has now struggled at times and contributed to the team’s difficulties in two consecutive seasons, notably losing the crease in the playoffs to Pickard in both seasons as well. Is that really the type of inconsistency and instability that a championship calibre team needs in the biggest games of the season? Probably not, which is why 65.1% of voters declared the team needed a new starting goalie for the 2025–26 season, the runaway winner in this week’s poll.
After a stellar rookie season in which he finished as the runner-up to for the Calder Trophy as the league’s rookie of the year, Skinner has seen a decline in performance each season since. Both via the eye-test and statistically.
He has had the same struggles in his game every season, and they do not seem to be getting better with age and growth. His statline has, in one way or another, gotten worse every season. He started with a strong .913 save percentage and 2.75 goals against average in his rookie year. That dropped to a .905 save percentage in year two, with a small boost to goals against average at 2.62. And both numbers dropped even further in year three, where he boasted an .896 SV% and 2.81 GAA.
Last year, Skinner was nearly completely average with a -1.5 goals saved above expected in all situations in the regular season and zero in the playoffs, according to Moneypuck. He is a completely average goalie that was certainly not impacting the team in a positive way.
That kind of sounds more like a backup, or at most a 1B goalie. Someone who can pop into the net once every week or two and give the team a completely average performance that they can probably win in front of.
Over the past calendar year, there have been plenty of goalies get moved who could have been cheap, solid fits with the team. Mackenzie Blackwood went to the Colorado Avalanche last fall. Logan Thompson went to the Washington Capitals last offseason after they traded out Darcy Kuemper (who also was a Vezina Trophy finalist last season).
Yes, the goalie market was weak early this summer. But if a team really needs to make a move for a new face in the position, as we saw last summer, there are players who could be acquired that may not be overly visible on the market.
This new goalie coach should fix the problems
The Oilers have had a goalie problem for far longer than Stuart Skinner. This dates back even past Dustin Schwartz’s debut with the organization, even. But particularly over the last 10 years, the goaltending position for the Oilers has been a revolving door of players who just never work out. In terms of homegrown goalies, Skinner is the only one to make an impact on the Oilers’ roster. Olivier Rodrigue saw ice time in two games and is no longer with the team. Laurent Brossoit was a back-up at times for a few seasons but never stuck with the team. And the last goalie developed in the Oilers organization who saw any success was Devan Dubnyk, who was mostly before the Schwartz era.
Additionally, almost every goalie who has come through this team in Schwartz’ era has seen no improvement to his game, and often times they seem to get worse with time. Cam Talbot started hot in Edmonton but fizzled out within a few years. Mikko Koskinen had the same massive hole in his game year after year. Skinner has had the same struggles with mobility and consistency that have only gotten worse with time. Mike Smith had a couple of the best seasons he had in years while in Edmonton, late in his career, though he also saw reduced games in a more back-up role compared to what he was playing prior.
There is a definite argument to make here that the talent the Oilers bring in to play in net is insufficient to begin with. The pro scouting on goalies that Edmonton has signed has been lackluster at best, as well. No coach is going to fix players incapable of playing at that high level. But even the more legitimate starting goalies the team has had have been unable to put up good numbers behind a strong roster.
But, after a decade with zero results, it is time to make a change at the goalie coach position. 19.8% of voters agree, as this option finished second place in this week’s poll.
They just need a new back up
This option means no disrespect to Pickard, who has been an excellent team player over the past few years. He has battled and fought his way to a stable role with the Oilers late in his career, becoming an adored player in the locker room and by the fans. It is clear that the skaters respect Pickard and enjoy playing in front of him. But, Pickard is a true back-up. He is not quite a skilled enough goalie to be a 1B capable of splitting games with Skinner. Although he has an amazing record as a back-up goalie and fills in better than anyone could ask for when in the crease for Edmonton, there may be better options to help take the pressure off of Skinner and be more trusted in a bigger role.
Some fans agree with that sentiment, 15.1% of voters think a new back-up would have been enough in net, though that was the last place option in this week’s poll.
With a weaker goalie market this offseason, this could have been the more realistic option as well. Finding someone who won’t necessarily have to be a new number one goalie, but someone who has been a good back-up goalie elsewhere who might be able to take on a bigger role with Edmonton if called upon.
The key would be finding someone who fits with the roster so that, if, Skinner falters in the playoffs again the new back-up goalie is someone who could fit the moment.
Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire
