Another year, another goaltending controversy for the Edmonton Oilers. It wouldn’t be a proper season without the organization’s problems being directed at the crease and whoever occupies it. For the past couple of years, that has been one of the additional duties of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard as they try to handle the pressure cooker that is Oil Country.
The problem lies with underwhelming performances that have not improved despite plenty of opportunities. The Oilers have made the Stanley Cup Final in back-to-back seasons despite their goaltending. And in 2025–26, it has barely gotten better. The Oilers have the worst team save percentage through 25 games since their inaugural season.
Although General Manager Stan Bowman and the front office want to wait this out as long as possible while they wait for the right move, this season’s chances are quickly dwindling. They will have a lot more cap flexibility to play with if they could wait this out until the offseason, but given some recent performances, they may not have that much time.
Over the past couple of weeks, rumours have started picking up more steam as the situation heats up. Oilers media and NHL insiders alike point to an increasing likelihood that at least one move will be made, addressing both goaltending positions and the defence. The goalie market, the ones we are aware of at least, is quite weak at the moment. The available options are not even definitively an improvement over what the Oilers have now. But, given the position the team is in, they might have to take what they can get.
This week, we decided to let the fans play armchair GM for a moment and vote for which goalie linked to Edmonton should be the primary trade target in a poll on X.
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Would Jordan Binnington be nervous about playing in Edmonton?
One of the goalies most frequently linked to the Oilers recently is Jordan Binnington. The current starting goalie for the St. Louis Blues is in the midst of one of the worst seasons of his career, with an .881 save percentage and 3.11 goals against average through his first 16 appearances. Though to be fair, the Blues are also struggling in front of him, and the other member of this tandem, Joel Hofer, is not performing much better.
Nevertheless, Binnington has a fairly decorated resume dating back to his career peak in his rookie season when he led the Blues on a worst-to-first tear to win the Stanley Cup. His performance has gotten progressively worse since, with the exception of a bounce-back in 2023–24. And a brief stint, primarily in overtime of the final game, during the 4 Nations Face-Off earlier this year, in which he locked in and helped save Team Canada’s championship goals.
Binnington has a reputation for being able to win, though his performance otherwise is wildly inconsistent. The same problem that plagues Skinner’s game. And on the ice, he has a reputation for losing his cool at times, though that energy might be welcome for this team when they’re looking flat.
The biggest barrier preventing a Binnington trade to Edmonton might be his contract. He has a no-trade clause and would have to approve a trade to the Oilers, something that no one is sure he would do. And his $6M cap hit this season would be a challenge to fit in without paying even more for retention.
Oilers fans, however, are generally confident that Binnington should be the target, with 29.4% of the voters selecting the Blues netminder.
Tristan Jarry getting a chance to win again in Edmonton
Tristan Jarry is no stranger to the city of Edmonton. He spent four years here from 2011 to 2015 as a goalie for the WHL’s Edmonton Oil Kings, including a Memorial Cup in 2014. Of the goalies on this list, Jarry has arguably the best resume, specifically in having a lengthier track record of consistently strong performance. In his peak year between 2019–20 and 2023–24, he averaged a .912 SV% and 2.68 GAA and earned Vezina Trophy votes in two of the seasons.
At the tail end of that stretch, and through last season, Jarry’s performance took a nosedive; he spent time in the AHL for the first time since 2018–19, and the Pittsburgh Penguins were considering buying out the remainder of his contract. Not the most confident situation to be targeting. At least Jarry had started this season strong, with his best stats in four years, until missing most of November due to injury.
Perhaps it is his generally more reliable performance, perhaps it is the familiarity with the player from his past time in Edmonton. Regardless of why, Jarry is the favourite candidate from this week’s poll, winning it with 38.2% of the vote.
Sam Montembeault showing last season was not a one-off
Sam Montembeault may be less “available” than some others on this list, but there is a very easy path looking at the Montreal Canadiens’ roster to see him being moved as other players develop. He has had the least amount of linking to the Oilers, but just enough to suggest that Edmonton will be at least inquiring on the Habs netminder.
Montembeault was a crucial part of the Canadiens’ trajectory, turning from rebuilder to playoff contender. He helped tend the crease for some brutal seasons in Montreal. And his stat line reflected it with below-average numbers. But as the Canadiens got better in the 2024–25 season, Montembeault was a huge part of the turnaround with his best season yet, and his first one where he had a positive goals saved above average.
One of the reasons Montembeault may be available now is his horrible start to this season. An .864 SV%, 3.49 GAA, and a -10 GSAA according to Hockey Reference in just 13 appearances. Not exactly the ideal performance for someone that the Oilers would be acquiring in the hopes of improving the goaltending.
Montembeault has been a largely average, if not below-average, goalie in his years, but some Oilers fans still have confidence that he could be the guy. He placed third in this week’s poll with 16.9% of the vote.
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Elvis Merzlikins has entered the building
The rumours linking Elvis Merzlikins to the Edmonton Oilers have been swirling for years. He is not a new target at all. And it seems once or twice per year, they heat up significantly when we find out Oilers scouts are at a Columbus Blue Jackets game, or vice versa for their scouts. But maybe there’s a reason why this particular move has never happened. The fans might be on to something, as Merzlikins finished last in this week’s poll with 15.4% of the vote.
When Merzlikins broke onto the NHL scene back in 2019–20, he quickly made a positive impact and showed signs of being a long-term starting goalie in the league. He was never quite able to recreate the performance he had in that rookie season, unfortunately. Every year after that got worse until he bottomed out with a 4.23 GAA and .876 SV% in 30 appearances in 2022–23.
Although Merzlikins has levelled off since then, he is still an underperforming goalie who has not shown in years that he can play at a higher level. There is not much of an argument to make that he could step up and be the guy if the Oilers were to trade for him.
Who do you think the Edmonton Oilers should acquire to be their new starting goalie? Drop a comment down below!
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