Oilers Dodged Goalie Bullet Four Years Ago
Edmonton Oilers ended up looking elsewhere for goalie help.
EDMONTON -- Goalies having success hasn't always been a guarantee in Edmonton.
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Before the Edmonton Oilers gave Stuart Skinner a good look - they were exploring their options in net. One option they were considering was a veteran Swedish netminder.
Jacob Markstrom was coming off of a great year for the Vancouver Canucks. In 43 games he had a record of 23-16-4 with two shutouts, a 2.75 goals against average (GAA) and a .918 save percentage (SV%). Re-signing with the Canucks was no longer an option so he signed a six year $6-million contract with the Calgary Flames.
Promptly after that, the Oilers re-signed Mike Smith - leaving them with the tandem of Smith and the now retired Mikko Koskinen. According to Elliotte Friedman at the time the Oilers truly thought that they were the team that was signing Markstrom, and were stunned when that turned out to not be the case.
It could be argued that their goalie fortunes changed for the better at that point. Since that season Markstrom has been up and down - having one great season, two decent seasons and one bad season since signing his new deal.
In Markstrom's first season with the Flames, the Oilers gave Skinner a one game audition in the NHL. It's tough to judge a goalie from one game - because in that game Skinner gave up five goals but the team won 8-5 against the Ottawa Senators.
For the Bakersfield Condors that season Skinner played 31 games and came out with a 20-9-2 record. Along with that he had a 2.38 GAA and a .914 SV%. The following season he lit the AHL on fire - with a 22-7-7 record, 2.21 GAA and .920 SV% to go along with five shutouts.
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He then got a 13 game cup of coffee with the Oilers and proved he was ready for a backup role, in the very least. Then that summer the Oilers signed Jack Campbell after Smith went on LTIR and Koskinen left to play in Europe.
If Markstrom was with the Oilers right now, there's so much about this team that would be different. They wouldn't have gone through the struggle of Campbell to get to the result of Skinner as the starting goalie.
It's possible that Markstrom still would have struggled with the Oilers - and the Oilers could have been in the same position that they presently are with Campbell, but with a more expensive goaltender.
The grass isn't always greener on the other side.
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