The Lightning should consider targeting this Oilers player this offseason.
The Lightning should consider targeting this Oilers player this offseason.
One of the Tampa Bay Lightning's objectives this offseason should be to improve their goalie depth. While they have a star starter in Andrei Vasilevskiy, Jonas Johansson had his struggles as the club's backup this season. Thus, the Lightning would be wise to add another experienced goalie to their roster this summer.
However, the Lightning also do not have a lot of cap space to work with this offseason, so they will need to go bargain shopping if they hope to add a goalie. As a result, one goalie who should grab their attention this summer is Edmonton Oilers netminder Calvin Pickard.
After appearing in 12 NHL games over three seasons (2019-20 to 2021-22) with the Detroit Red Wings and zero last season, Pickard earned the Oilers' backup role in 2023-24 because of his strong play. In 23 regular-season appearances, he had a 12-7-1 record, a .909 SV%, and a 2.45 GAA.
Yet, Pickard biggest impact has come during the playoffs for the Oilers. When Stuart Skinner struggled earlier this postseason, Pickard briefly became the club's starter and performed well in the role. He has a .915 SV% and a 2.21 GAA in three postseason appearances.
With Pickard showing that he can still be an NHL backup this season, the Lightning should seriously consider signing him to an affordable short-term deal. He would be a bit of an upgrade over Johansson and would also give Tampa a more experienced option.
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