Should The Oilers Have Acquired Binnington Instead Of Jarry?

For a very long time, the Edmonton Oilers have been a sinkhole for goaltenders.

Go back more than a decade in Edmonton, and you'll see a steady stream of netminders who couldn't get the job done and deliver a Stanley Cup championship to Oilers fans.

Since 2015-16, in Edmonton's net, there's been Cam Talbot and Laurent Brossoit and Anders Nilsson and Jonas Gustavsson and Al Montoya and Anthony Stolarz and Jack Campbell and Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith – and this season, Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard and Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram.

That’s a whole lot of 'ands.'

But there's no question the constant netminding carousel in Edmonton hasn't solved the Oilers' problems. And as Edmonton battles for a playoff spot, Jarry's performance has some observers wondering whether Edmonton GM Stan Bowman made the right choice in acquiring Jarry in mid-December instead of St. Louis Blues veteran and Cup-winner Jordan Binnington.

Yes, Binnington's NHL numbers this season, including an .872 save percentage and 3.40 goals-against average, are far from ideal. It's possible the Oilers could've acquired him and regretted it.

But Jarry's .856 SP and 4.01 GAA since joining Edmonton are even worse – and he has another two years left on his contract after this season, while Binnington has only one more year on his deal.

So while Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch has turned to Ingram as Jarry's replacement – with mixed results for Ingram, including an .890 SP and 2.83 GAA – the Jarry experiment has proven to be a full-on disaster so far.

Remember, Jarry was waived through the league last season, and there were no takers. That should've sent a barrage of red flags into the sky above Bowman. And now, the reality is that Jarry is closer to being bought out of his contract this summer than he is to being Edmonton's starting goalie in the playoffs – if the Oilers get into the playoffs.

Binnington's track record is more promising.

Again, this season has been pretty rough for him, but his .900 SP last year was better than Jarry's and Skinner's, and Binnington's .901 SP in seven playoff games last season was also better than Skinner's.

Even in 2023-24, Binnington's .913 SP was the best of the three, and that came after he had a down season with an .894 SP. He's shown he's capable of bouncing back effectively.

Skinner's track record includes two Cup finals, but Binnington won the Cup in his rookie campaign, and he backstopped Canada to a 4 Nations Face-Off win last year. Even though Canada lost the gold medal game in the 2026 Olympics, he stopped 26 of 28 shots for a .929 save percentage.

Then there's Jarry, who has eight career playoff games. To his credit, he has had a save percentage of .903 or better in six regular seasons, but you can't help but wonder whether his .909 SP in 14 games with Pittsburgh this year before the trade was enough to make him the target over Binnington.

Had Bowman waited until the trade deadline to change goalies, Binnington could've been a better option. There wasn't much indication, if any, that the Oilers were on his 14-team no-trade list, either.

But there's an unmistakable pattern that's now evident with the Oilers – and that's the fact that it doesn't matter who they put in net, because results are pretty much the same.

Each and every one of Edmonton's four goalies this season has a save percentage of .891 or worse. That speaks to a team in front of Oilers goalies that simply can't defend effectively and consistently.

Ultimately, Bowman and the Oilers were probably in a lose-lose situation in net: Edmonton fans would've rioted had they stayed the course with Skinner, but now they're in riot mode because of Jarry.

And in the Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl Era – which won't be around forever – Edmonton can't afford more regrets by continuing to choose the wrong goalie.

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