The Edmonton Oilers seem to be playing better hockey these days, but trade speculation is still high around the club.
Goaltending has, once again, been the big topic of discussion in the Alberta capital, as both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard have gotten off to less-than-stellar starts to the season. Rumour-mongering appeared to have reached a fever-pitch last weekend when false reports hit that Edmonton had traded for Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Tristan Jarry.
Yet, as we enter mid-December, the Oilers have yet to consummate any new trades, and it sounds like the team isn’t rushing to make any hasty deals before the holidays.
Earlier this week, Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson chatted with TSN’s Gino Reda about the team’s philosophy on making a quick trade to try to turn things around.
“All the teams in the league are always looking to improve themselves at any point; we’re no different,” Jackson said. “We really believe we have a strong group, we like our personality. We got a couple of injuries right now. When those guys come back, we’re gonna be super deep.
“We’re not going to act from a position of being desperate, and we’re going to sit tight. Stan [Bowman] has been working the phones, like every other GM, just seeing what’s out there.”
Skinner, at least, appears to have picked up his game over the last week or so. Over his past four games, the Edmonton native has posted a 2-1-1 record and a fantastic .929 save percentage that included one shutout victory over the Seattle Kraken. That is precisely the type of goaltending that the Oilers have needed this year.
The same can’t really be said for Pickard, who somehow managed to put up a .875 save percentage in a 9-4 victory over the Kraken last week. When asked about how he sees the goaltending this season, Jackson didn’t tip his hand either way.
“If you look around the league, you’ll find soft goals let in by all the goalies. It happens, they can’t stop everything,” Jackson said. “The most important thing is when the team is playing well in front of our goalie, clearing the puck away, protecting the crease area, exiting the zone quickly and efficiently without giveaways.
“That’s where your goaltender looks a lot better, and we’ve been doing that a lot better lately.”
The heat is on the Oilers to finally bring a Stanley Cup back to Canada, especially with Connor McDavid committing to a short-term, discounted deal before the season. Edmonton has no room to punt a season and hope things get better next season.
Jackson was asked about this and said that the organization understands the pressure, but McDavid’s contract didn’t change things all too much.
“With Connor McDavid in your lineup, there’s always a sense of urgency,” Jackson said. “We’re at a period where we wanna try to get over the hump that we couldn’t get over the last couple of years. That doesn’t change. I felt the same way when I took this job two and a half years ago.
“We’re in a win-now mode, and that’s our goal, and [McDavid] signing a short-term deal doesn’t change that at all.”
The NHL’s holiday trade freeze comes into effect on Dec. 19, and if we are to believe Jackson, it doesn’t seem like Oilers fans should expect too much movement before then.
