Edmonton Oilers Are in the Goaltending Market
Greg Wyshynski of ESPN: Wyshynski writes in his pre-NHL Draft and Free Agency Buzz column that the Edmonton Oilers are looking for a goaltender. While Stan Bowman said the position is being evaluated the Oilers cannot role out Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard again. It held them back in the Stanley Cup Final.
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The goalie market is thin, and this is not the year for the Oilers to be looking at a goalie. That was last year. While they were tied to John Gibson of the Anaheim Ducks (now a member of the Detroit Red Wings), Jake Allen continues to be a name that is being linked to Edmonton along with Alexandar Georgiev (San Jose), Alex Lyon (Detroit), Vitek Vanecek (Florida), and Anton Forsberg (Ottawa).
As GM Stan Bowman said during the Final, who is exactly unpgrade over the guys they have now.
Where Do The Oilers Look at Goaltending Now
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic: As Nugent-Bowman writes the package that saw John Gibson go from Anaheim to Detroit was minimal and something Oilers GM Stan Bowman could have matched. However, Edmonton’s GM is still evaluating the position, and keeping both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard is a possibility. As Bowman said to the media, “We’re not at the point where we’re saying we’re definitely bringing in new goalies.”
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It would have been tough for the Oilers to take on Gibson’s entire salary, not to mention the Ducks did not want to send him to a divisional rival, which would have cost the Oilers more. But options are getting thin as Joel Hofer re-signed in St. Louis. The market is already thin to begin with. Now they could trade for Thatcher Demko, but there is a reason why the Gibson deal didn’t happen already. It is the same reason why Demko might not go to the Oilers: too many injuries. (The Canucks and Demko could be close a contract extension)
The longer this goes on, the more likely it is that Skinner and Pickard will be the decision, as they take up minimal cap space, thus allowing the Oilers to fill out their bottom six.
There Should Be No Panic In Minnesota About Kirill Kaprizov
Michael Russo of The Athletic: Russo writes that just because Kirill Kaprizov is not signed to a new contract extension on July 1 does not mean it is not going to happen. Both General Manager Bill Guerin and the player are confident that this will get done. But he reiterated that there should be no panic from the fan base. Even the owner is confident that this extension will get done.
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As Guerin told Russo, all the parties involved are aware of the plan, and that is to win. With the rising cap and the Minnesota Wild finally emerging from cap purgatory due to the buyouts of Zach Parise and Ryan Suter, the team will be in a position to attract big-name players to play in Minnesota, with a true superstar in Kirill Kaprizov.
Again, what Kaprizov decides to do on his next contract will only benefit him and the team. However, if he wants to maximize his earnings, the best move is to sign now. However, just because it isn’t signed on July 1 doesn’t mean it won’t happen in the summer. It just may be later than usual, like Auston Matthews and Leon Draisaitl before him.
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