This in from the weekly “Saturday Headlines” segment of Hockey Night in Canada, hosted by Ron MacLean and Elliotte Friedman. The Edmonton Oilers are indeed looking to trade for Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry. However, the potential deal has some hurdles holding it up.
Why this deal isn’t across the finish line yet
The Oilers intend to have a tandem of Jarry and current goaltender Stuart Skinner with this deal. However, that would require the Pens to retain salary, which is something they don’t seem keen on doing. Earlier rumours have had the Oilers dealing away a second-round pick as part of the deal, which seems to be compensation for the potential salary retention.
The Oilers could still get a third team involved, but that team would be the only one allowed to retain salary. The NHL, at the start of September, expedited some cap-related rule changes in the new collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Under the new rules, “double retention” is no longer permitted. Whichever third team would get involved would have to be willing to take on the full 50% retention on Jarry.
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Could this be the end of Calvin Pickard’s time with the Oilers?
Calvin Pickard started Thursday night’s blowout win against the Seattle Kraken. He finished a stat-pad-time goal shy of marking consecutive starts with a save percentage over .900. Notably, after the game, his goalie embrace with Skinner was more elongated and sentimental than usual.
It doesn’t take a Sherlock Holmes to deduce that, if the Oilers are bringing in Jarry and keeping Skinner, Pickard is almost certainly on the way out. The Penguins have two talented young goalies, in Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov. This, it would make more sense for them to acquire Pickard rather than Skinner. Pickard would be a perfect AHL starting option for their affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. There, he can get a lot more playing time, build his case for another contract, and mentor other young goalie prospects in the Pens’ system. Skinner is still a bit too young, by goalie standards, to fit that bill.
Ultimately, this will come down to who blinks first. Do the Oilers ultimately find a better goalie option and trading partner? Or do the Penguins accept the offer on the table, if they itch to offload Jarry quicker? This will certainly be a developing story.
