The Edmonton Oilers are off to a shaky start this season, sitting at 6-5-4 and fourth in the Pacific Division. The back-to-back Stanley Cup Finalists haven’t quite found their rhythm yet. They’ve dropped three of their last five games.
Goaltending has been at the center of the criticism. Stuart Skinner has faced heat for his inconsistent play. He posted a 2.54 GAA and .899 SV% through 10 starts. The Oilers will try to get back on track as they host the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday.
Insider Believes $61.92M Nashville Star Could Solve the Oilers’ Goaltending Issues
With Edmonton’s goaltending struggles continuing, fans and insiders are starting to wonder if All-Star Juuse Saros could be the missing piece. The Nashville Predators netminder is in the first year of his eight-year, $61.92 million contract. He has been linked to the Oilers trade discussions.
On the Oilersnation Everyday podcast, NHL insider Jeff Marek suggested that Edmonton could make a serious push for Saros at the trade deadline, especially if Nashville’s season continues to slide. The Predators currently sit near the bottom of the Central Division with a 5-7-4 record.
Marek explained: “I know the contract is lengthy and it’s not small, but if you’re not talking about looking at Juuse Saros, then what are we doing here? You can’t ask a player to go through two rebuilds. And if this is the Nashville is going to go, I would expect that Barry Trotz would have that conversation with Juuse Saros. Like, look this is the direction we’re going to go. We tried, we loaded up… and it didn’t work.”
Nashville brought in star players Steven Stamkos, Jonathan Marchessault, and Brady Skjei during the 2024 offseason. But if things don’t improve, a rebuild could be on the horizon.
Marek added that if he were the Oilers, he wouldn’t worry about Saros’ long-term deal:
“You’re not in a place right now where you got to worry about ‘what’s that’s going to look like in four years’. You just need to think about the next game and the next round of playoffs, if you’re the Edmonton Oilers. That’s the I’d be looking at if I’m Edmonton… and don’t even worry about the contract.”
Of course, there’s one major hurdle: Juuse Saros has a full no-movement clause in his contract, meaning he has complete control over whether or not he’s traded. The Predators can’t move him without his approval, which makes any potential deal complicated.
