Toronto’s All-Star goaltender from last season inks a new contract with the Edmonton Oilers to become their new starter.
Once the Toronto Maple Leafs acquired Matt Murray, it was clear they had moved on from Jack Campbell.
Toronto’s starter from last season signed a five-year, $25 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday.
The 30-year-old cashes in on his first big-money deal spending much of his 20s struggling to get his footing in the NHL.
A first-round pick (11th overall) from the Dallas Stars in the 2010 NHL Draft, Campbell finally broke through as an everyday backup with the Los Angeles Kings.
In 2020, the Leafs acquired Campbell in a trade to become the team’s backup goaltender to Frederik Andersen.
In 2021, Campbell came to form and set the NHL record of wins to start a season at 11. He unseated Andersen as the No. 1 goaltender in Toronto and continued to perform well in the early part of the 2021-22 season. He was named to his first NHL All-Star Game in 2022. However, Campbell’s numbers began to slide in the latter half of the last season and Toronto elected to move on.
Campbell took to his personal Instagram to thank the fans in Toronto for their support.
“To my teammates in Toronto, THANK YOU for everything. Words don't justify how special the past couple of years mean to me,” Campbell said. “To leafs nation, the support you gave me every single day through the ups and downs was beyond my wildest imagination. Thank you for making me feel welcomed and loved. To Oil Country, I can't wait to get started and l'm so grateful for this opportunity!”
Edmonton’s need for a new goaltender was obvious. With the uncertainty surrounding Mike Smith and Mikko Koskinen’s departure to Lugano of the Swiss league, the Oilers went after one of the big fish available in the free agent goaltending pool.
Campbell get a substantial raise from his $1.65 million salary cap hit from last season. He joins former Maple Leafs forward Zach Hyman, who made a similar move last offseason.