Every summer in Edmonton [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers#google_vignette] fans demand a goalie. Trade for one. Sign one. Dream about one. Blame the guy already here and convince yourself that somewhere, somehow, there's a masked saviour waiting to solve all the problems. The conversation doesn't change, but the names do. Never mind that the Oilers already moved on from Stuart Skinner. Never mind that Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram are now expected to handle the crease. The instinct in Oil Country remains the same. Maybe they need another one. Maybe this guy isn't enough. Maybe that guy would have stopped one more puck. It's understandable when goaltenders, especially in Edmonton, live under a microscope. Every mistake is replayed endlessly. Every soft goal feels catastrophic. Every bad night turns into a referendum on the position itself. The Goalie Edmonton Wanted Is Available… Again [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/c6054dd6-d235-4a56-8f0c-a6a0fd648172.jpeg] The Goalie Edmonton Wanted Is Available… Again As New Jersey gauges trade interest in Jacob Markstrom, the Oilers face a familiar crossroads with the elite netminder who once slipped through their fingers in free agency. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/the-goalie-edmonton-wanted-is-available-again] But after years of watching this team, one starts to wonder if Edmonton is asking the wrong question. Because the truth is, the Oilers have spent most of the Connor McDavid era searching for answers in goal. Cam Talbot. Mike Smith. Jack Campbell. Stuart Skinner. Now Jarry and Ingram. Forget the Superstars, Edmonton's Next Star Might Come With Questions Attached [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/470416f7-caf0-4ab3-9544-c462663e86e9.jpeg] Forget the Superstars, Edmonton's Next Star Might Come With Questions Attached Every summer, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers#google_vignette">Oilers</a> fans dream big. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/forget-the-superstars-edmontons-next-star-might-come-with-questions-attached] At some point, maybe it's worth asking whether constantly changing the names on the back of the jersey addresses the bigger issue. After all, Skinner helped get Edmonton to two Stanley Cup Finals. He wasn't Dominik Hasek, and obody would argue otherwise. There were several nights when Calvin Pickard had to come in and settle things down, and there were stretches where Skinner looked like he was fighting the puck. But teams don't accidentally play in June twice. Good things were happening in front of him. And bad things, at times, were happening in front of him too. Look at Ingram and Jarry. Insider Believes Babcock Likely To Be Cleared To Coach By NHL [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/3f3e5c8f-1076-42d3-b2d7-04230fc70246.jpeg] Insider Believes Babcock Likely To Be Cleared To Coach By NHL As investigators look into Mike Babcock's past, one NHL insider suggests the veteran bench boss may soon return to the bench, potentially clearing a path to join the Edmonton Oilers. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/insider-believes-babcock-likely-to-be-cleared-to-coach-by-nhl] Neither player arrived with the reputation of being a franchise goaltender. Both came with strings attached. Jarry hasn't settled into Edmonton the way fans would have hoped, while Ingram has somehow become the Oilers 1A. Maybe both grow into the goaltenders than can compete with each other. Maybe the tandem works beautifully. Maybe everybody spends next April talking about how Stan Bowman found his answer. But expecting either man to solve problems that have existed for years feels unfair, when too often the Oilers have made life difficult on their goaltenders. Every Moment Ranked In An Already Embarrassing Summer For the Oilers [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/ba62567b-06aa-4361-8ecf-107d92db9562.jpeg] Every Moment Ranked In An Already Embarrassing Summer For the Oilers From botched coaching searches to leaked negotiations and trade drama, Edmonton’s chaotic offseason is spiraling. We rank the front-office blunders defining a franchise's most humiliating summer yet. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/every-moment-ranked-in-an-already-embarrassing-summer-for-the-oilers] Odd-man rushes. Screens. Lost coverages. Rebounds that sit untouched. Forwards cheating for offence. Defencemen failing to win battles around the crease. Those things matter. Just look around the league. Darnell Nurse Requests Trade, Submits A List of 3-5 Teams To Oilers [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/608c1793-19cd-49a5-8ad1-71f260418123.jpeg] Darnell Nurse Requests Trade, Submits A List of 3-5 Teams To Oilers After years as a blue-line fixture, the veteran defenseman is ready to move on. Following a fractured relationship with management, Darnell Nurse aims to control his exit via a targeted shortlist. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/darnell-nurse-requests-trade-submits-a-list-of-3-5-teams-to-oilers] Sergei Bobrovsky gets plenty of praise in Florida, and deservedly so, but he also benefits from Gustav Forsling, Aaron Ekblad and a team structure that makes life miserable. Vegas won with Adin Hill because Bruce Cassidy built layers in front of him. Nobody was confusing him with Patrick Roy, but Vegas defended, and perhaps that's where the Oilers need to spend more of their energy. Another top-four defenceman wouldn't hurt. Neither would another reliable penalty killer or a third line capable of spending more time cycling pucks and less time scrambling in its own end. If Mike Babcock Falls Through, Where Do The Oilers Go From Here? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/fecd8051-36a9-4f3c-8e8a-1a365deb3aa1.jpeg] If Mike Babcock Falls Through, Where Do The Oilers Go From Here? Should the latest investigation into Mike Babcock ultimately prevent him from becoming the next head coach of the <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers">Edmonton Oilers</a>, the organization could find itself in a remarkably awkward position, one that would leave people searching for answers while trying to explain how a process that began with such urgency became so messy. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/if-mike-babcock-falls-through-where-do-the-oilers-go-from-here] A little more size around the net wouldn't hurt either. None of those additions would generate nearly as many headlines as trading for the latest goaltending flavour of the month, but they might matter more. That isn't to suggest the Oilers should stop looking. Good teams should always be looking. And if somebody truly special becomes available, Bowman should absolutely make the call. The problem is that those guys almost never hit the market. And even when they do, there are no guarantees. UFA Watch: Blue Jackets Veteran To Be Target For The Oilers? [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/8b109641-278b-407a-bd2b-86149f319bdd.jpeg] UFA Watch: Blue Jackets Veteran To Be Target For The Oilers? Boone Jenner’s veteran leadership and faceoff prowess could provide the depth Edmonton craves, but his injury history and contract demands present a calculated risk for the Oilers. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/ufa-watch-blue-jackets-veteran-to-be-target-for-the-oilers] Just ask Toronto. Just ask Vancouver. Just ask New Jersey. There are plenty of talented teams around the league still searching for certainty in net. They've discovered what Edmonton keeps learning every few years. Goaltending matters, but it rarely exists in isolation. Oilers Leadership Group Met With More Than Just Mike Babcock [https://deweb-519a7.b-cdn.net/post-images/981061e4-025b-45cc-b143-b1acb8ce8a6a.jpeg] Oilers Leadership Group Met With More Than Just Mike Babcock Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl personally vetted multiple coaching candidates, reportedly favoring Mike Babcock’s hard-nosed approach over another coach that was on Edmonton's short list. [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news/oilers-leadership-group-met-with-more-than-just-mike-babcock] Jarry and Ingram might be good enough. They might not be. But if the Oilers are serious about getting back into the Stanley Cup conversation, perhaps the better question isn't whether they have the right goalie. Maybe it's whether they're doing enough to help the ones they already have. Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/] team site to never miss the latest news [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/latest-news], game-day [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/game-day] coverage, and more [https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/edmonton-oilers/players]. Add us to your Google News [https://news.google.com/publications/CAAqBwgKMK-q0gsw7sXpAw/sections/CAQqEAgAKgcICjCvqtILMO7F6QMwn-DfCA?hl=en-CA&gl=CA&ceid=CA%3Aen] favourites, and never miss a story.
