With so many different people talking about our Edmonton Oilers, it can be tricky to keep up. Each week, we here at The Oil Rig will compile some of the biggest and best news, updates, rumours, and discussions for you to keep up-to-date on all things Oilers.
This week, the Oilers were demolished by the Dallas Stars. It was so bad that it forced the organization to finally look externally for options to jolt this team. Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard are clearly not good enough and it’s time for a change.
Let’s get right into exploring these stories, but first, a few quick hit rumours and updates!
Quick hit Edmonton Oilers updates
An update on Kapanen’s injury
Kasperi Kapanen has been out since late October in a game against the Detroit Red Wings. After grinding to get back to play, he stepped out on the ice yesterday morning and reinjured himself during the last practice of the day. Brutal news for both him and the Oilers. They desperately miss his speed in the bottom-six. No word yet on what his new timeline looks like on a return.
Nugent-Hopkins and Lazar return
The good news is that forwards Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who has been out for nine games due to a possible concussion against the Colorado Avalanche, and Curtis Lazar are nearing a return. Nugent-Hopkins would be a huge boost to the forward core. He was point per game with 16 points in 16 games at the time of his injury.
Roslovic newly injured
Forward Jack Roslovic, who has been absolute money this year, is expected to miss the game on Saturday. Jason Gregor reports that it could be multiple weeks. The Oilers have tended to underestimate these injuries where they will list someone as day-to-day only to miss weeks. We’ll see.
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The goaltending rumours
Ever since that Tuesday blowout, there have been a ton of conversations about Stuart Skinner’s future with the team. Elliotte Friedman touched on this a bit during his 32 Thoughts segment and even Bob Stauffer and Ryan Rishaug have gone as far as saying it may be time for a change.
The tandem of Skinner/Pickard has allowed 22 goals over the last three home games. That also includes the 9–1 smashing loss to the Avalanche. It seems this stretch finally made the management realize it was time for a change. There are two main goalies it seems the Oilers are targeting.
Jordan Binnington as an option
Nick Kyperos and Darren Dreger have linked Jordan Binnington to the Oilers, and it has been brought up on OilersNow for a while. Binnington, while having a down year, is definitely the best option for the Oilers currently and this is the perfect opportunity to buy low on him.
The guy is absolutely clutch in the big moments and brings some fiery passion that I do believe the Oilers need. Binnington had a +5.9, 16.5, and a -9.2 in the past three seasons. Kyperos also mentioned a possible scenario where the Oilers want to take back a defenceman. People speculate about Colton Parayko, but I believe this is more a Matt Kessel or a Tyler Tucker.
Tristan Jarry is of interest
Now… this is the more probable scenario. Tristan Jarry, a former Oil King, in my opinion is NOT the answer. Jarry is a more expensive, older and injury-prone version of Skinner.
But alas, a shakeup is needed. Jarry’s had a +7.0, -4.7, +2.3, and -2.8 GSAx in the past four seasons. So he’s inconsistent like Skinner. Jarry has also been labelled a playoff choker with a record of 2–6–0 in eight games with a goals against average of 3.00 and a save percentage of .891 in the playoffs in his career. So again, not ideal for a playoff contender.
At this point though, a change is needed and if they do acquire Jarry then I’ll give him the time of day. The Oilers probably also want a defenceman in this deal like they are in a potential St. Louis Blues deal… Parker Wortherspoon perhaps?
We’ll see what happens.
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