Oilers Will Regret Not Trading For Surging Goalie

The Edmonton Oilers should find a way to make a deal work.

EDMONTON -- Breaks are a good thing.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-hkdhDH5pY[/embed]

So, rumors and rumblings are bubbling while the Edmonton Oilers are away on vacation (except Connor McDavid, Mattias Ekholm, and Viktor Arvidsson).

Chief among them is one that came up yesterday on the 32 Thoughts podcast. 

Elliotte Friedman shared a report on Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson during his podcast published yesterday.

"One of the things that I had heard during the season was that Gibson's preferences were Edmonton and Carolina," Friedman revealed. "The Edmonton thing is really interesting. Someone told me there was some talk about the Oilers and Gibson."

"The one thing I kind of heard was that Gibson wants a situation where he's going to be the number one. He wants to be the guy."

Gibson wanting to be the number one goalie is not a surprising notion. This season, he's been supplanted by youngster Lukas Dostal. Why would he want to move on to a new organization unless it was a better situation for him?

"I don't know if a Gibson-Skinner duo is going to work for him," Friedman continues.

Connor McDavid Centres Surprising Line At Canada's First Practice

It's Time For Oilers To Bring Back Fan-Favourite

Oilers Insider Reveals Trade Deadline Target

Stuart Skinner And Massive Giveaways Cost Oilers Big-Time

While Friedman might not see a fit with the Oilers and goaltender Gibson, the veteran netminder would give the team a tremendous boost in net. Especially considering how he has faired this season.

He has a 9-9-2 record in 23 games. Despite this record, he has a 2.69 goals against average (GAA) and a .915 save percentage (SV%). However, digging deeper reveals other positives.

Gibson ranks sixth among all goalies in goals saved above expected, with 14.6. In his 23 games, he has 12 quality starts, which are games in which the goalie has a save percentage that is league average or better.

Acquiring Gibson would not be a knock on Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard. Rather, it would be Stan Bowman and the Oilers doing the due diligence and picking up a goalie who could split the starts and take over for Skinner when he struggles.

Looking strictly at performance, this would be a big addition for the Oilers. It would just be a matter of figuring out how to make the money work.

Oilers fans will want to monitor this situation during this break and beyond.

Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss the latest news, game-day coverage, and more. Add us to your Google News favourites, and never miss a story.