Will the Edmonton Oilers address their goaltending issues, or will they focus on another area of need?
TSN: Pierre LeBrun on the Edmonton Oilers, who have struggled of late. Fans may want their goaltending situation addressed, but that may not be a priority for them.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Jennifer Hedger: “How about the situation in Edmonton right now? We’ve been seeing the puck in the back of their net quite a bit lately.
LeBrun: “Yeah.
Hedger: “They’ve got Calvin Pickard, they’ve got Stuart Skinner. Obviously, they thought they were going to be able to ride these guys, I’m guessing, through to the postseason, and it is not looking great between the pipes for them.
Do you think that Edmonton is going to look for a goaltender? Are they looking for a goalie or there’s just nobody out there that is really an upgrade on who they already have?”
LeBrun: “So, I know there’s a lot of Oilers fans who don’t want to hear this, but Stan Bowman has told other teams that his priority is not to upgrade his goaltending, and I think in part, because he doesn’t see what he believes to be an automatic upgrade on the market.
And I understand what people see well, you know, goaltending is not good enough, right now. Okay, who’s available that you know for sure would be that much better, right? Okay, is Jordan Binnington available? He had a great Four Nations. He hasn’t had a great year.”
Hedger: “Right. Gibson?”
LeBrun: “John Gibson is available (left laste night’s game with an injury), yes, and he would waive his no-trade to go to Edmonton. We’ve reported that before, but he’s been inconsistent the last few years. He’s got two more years on his deal at $6.4 million.
I don’t know that the Oilers view that as an upgrade on Stuart Skinner, the version of Stuart Skinner that helped him get to a game seven and a Cup Final last year. That’s the version that the Oilers still hope to bank on come playoff time.
No, the priority for the Oilers, I think, right now, judging them, what I’m hearing around the league is they’re trying to upgrade the blue line.”
Hedger: “Right.”
LeBurn: “That’s, that’s where they’re trying to go. They’re trying to go get a defenseman. I kind of wonder about Brian Dumoulin in Anaheim (traded to the New Jersey Devils earlier today), who’s a pending UFA. Now, the Ducks now plays themselves into the periphery of the Western playoff race, so we’ll see whether or not they move him.
But I think it’s imperative for the Oilers to upgrade on defense. But also, there is no magic wand for what the trade deadline at this point can do for the Oilers. I actually love their Trent Frederic pickup, but the answer comes from within. They’ve been awful since the Four Nations break. They got to figure it out. ”