The Edmonton Oilers have placed goaltender Jack Campbell on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the AHL.
A disastrous start to the season in Edmonton just got worse.
The Edmonton Oilers made a shocking move on Tuesday, placing goaltender Jack Campbell on waivers for the purpose of assigning him to the AHL.
Based purely on the 31-year-old's play, Campbell's exodus from the Oilers' roster isn't too surprising.
In 36 games for the club last season, Campbell put up some of the worst numbers of his career, finishing with a .888 save percentage while allowing nearly 17 more goals than the average netminder. The 2023-24 season hasn't exactly painted a prettier picture, as Campbell's struggles have only continued to the tune of a 1-4-0 record along with a .873 save percentage and a whopping negative-five goals-saved-above-average.
Those numbers would have gotten any other goalie demoted long before now. But Campbell's case isn't so simple, as the Michigan native is in just the second year of a five-year contract he signed with the Oilers in the 2022 off-season, which carries a $5-million AAV. At that cap hit and term commitment, very few teams will be willing to a chance on a struggling netminder, and even if the Oilers do send him to the AHL, they will still be saddled with a dead cap charge exceeding $3.5 million. And given that the Oilers have been forced to dress lineups that are one player short due to financial constraints, every single penny counts.
As for who takes his place in the Oilers' tandem, Calvin Pickard's been the starter in AHL Bakersfield, with a 2-2 record, 2.03 goals-against average and .939 save percentage. He'll likely be called up, but the other option would be Olivier Rodrigue, who has a 2-0 record with a .968 save percentage and 1.00 GAA.
Here's hoping Campbell can rediscover his game in the AHL.
For more reading over at THN's Edmonton Oilers site, Caleb Kerney speculates about three goalies the team could look into to improve their netminding situation.
