Ken Holland has a plan for the trade deadline and if they will acquire a goalie or not.
Ken Holland has a plan for the trade deadline and if they will acquire a goalie or not.
EDMONTON -- The Edmonton Oilers are minutes away from winning their afternoon matinee against their Pacific Division rivals - the Seattle Kraken.
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The Oilers goaltending situation has been in flux all season. Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell were the designated duo for the team coming into the regular season.
Things went off the rails really fast.
By the time Jay Woodcroft had been replaced, Campbell had found himself down in the minors playing for the Oilers AHL affiliate - the Bakersfield Condors.
It's common knowledge (at this point) that the Oilers are pursuing at least one forward and a defenseman. There hasn't been a lot of chatter regarding the Oilers and a goalie lately - and now it appears that we know why.
Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic had a Q&A with the Oilers general manager, Ken Holland. In that Q&A Holland was asked about whether or not the Oilers were going to explore acquiring a goalie on the trade market. He had a very clear answer.
"No. I'm not exploring the market at all. We feel really good about our goaltending."
Holland sounds more than happy about the way everyone has played since the end of December. With that in mind, it's very clear that the Oilers will not be acquiring a goalie.
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Skinner has been fantastic and Calvin Pickard has been a solid backup rocking a .905 save percentage. Campbell has bounced back from his rough start and Olivier Rodrigue continues to develop very well for the Condors.
Moving forward, they will be taking a chance on their goaltending depth instead of looking elsewhere.
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