From Jake Allen to Karel Vejmelka, 5 options for the Edmonton Oilers to target in net

Credit: Jake Allen (© David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports)

The first item on the Edmonton Oilers’ emergency checklist was to waive goaltender Jack Campbell on Nov. 7. The second was to fire coach Jay Woodcroft five days later, just 13 games into the season.

The third item? The next page in Jeff Jackson and Ken Holland’s playbook to save Edmonton’s season has to be to trade for a goaltender, right? The Oilers haven’t been able to buy a save this season. Edmonton’s goaltending is on a historically bad pace. They rank 32nd with an .867 save percentage. For perspective, the Seattle Kraken were sunk by sieves in 2021-22 with the worst goaltending in the salary cap era – in fact, the worst goaltending performance over a full season in 30 years – and Seattle finished that season with an .880 save percentage.

The trouble is, the Oilers aren’t outscoring their problems in net. Their once historically daunting power play has inexplicably gone dark. But that will come back, right? Connor McDavid isn’t going to linger in 61st place in scoring all season, is he? The goaltending, though, that might stick. Stuart Skinner strung together a solid week of starts by allowing just five goals in three games, then the Tampa Bay Lightning tagged him for five on 23 shots last weekend.

Calvin Pickard was no better in his first NHL start since Jan. 28, 2022. The Oilers have allowed nine goals against on this two-game road trip out East which concludes on Friday night in D.C. If Edmonton hoped Campbell would find his game in Bakersfield, he appeared completely lost with an .819 save percentage in his first three AHL games before pitching a 30-save shutout on Tuesday night against Henderson.

In this Cup-or-Bust season, the Oilers are in a dogfight to make the playoffs. They do not appear to be a franchise that will leave stones unturned this season, but they are at a crossroads of trying to weigh cost with potential impact. Goaltending is voodoo, you never really know what you’re going to get from week-to-week, let alone year-to-year – or with a goalie trading places. So, what are Edmonton’s options in net?

First, let’s start off by crossing off a few unrealistic names. Fans have been clamoring for Jeremy Swayman or Linus Ullmark from Boston. The Bruins, with their own Stanley Cup aspirations, have no incentive to move one of them. Boston’s dynamic duo is one of the most dominant in NHL history as colleague Matt Larkin explained, and on track to do something this season that hasn’t been accomplished since the 1980s.

Nashville’s backbone, Juuse Saros, is also unavailable. In an upcoming edition of Frankly Speaking, we asked Predators GM Barry Trotz about Saros’ name in the rumor mill, and he understands why teams are calling. But he isn’t enamored with late first-round draft picks. He met with Saros’ representative two weeks ago and told them that they want Saros in Nashville for the long haul and plan to re-sign him this summer when first eligible for an extension.

“Our plan is to have Saros be our netminder when we’re back in the fold being at a high level,” Trotz told Frankly Speaking. “When you have an elite goaltender, you don’t want to have that elite goaltender go somewhere else. Right now, we’re looking to re-sign him.”

Almost any other truly elite goaltender, the ones that allow managers to rest their head on the pillow comfortably at night, are not moving. But there are still solutions out there. Here are five realistic options for Edmonton ranked from least to most expensive acquisition cost:

1. James Reimer

Detroit Red Wings
Age: 35
Stats: 6 GP, 2.30 GAA, .917 Sv%
Contract: Pending UFA, $1.5 million AAV
Scoop: To me, Reimer is the perfect relatively inexpensive solution with a very reasonable chance to be a difference maker. His career numbers are incredibly stable. In 14 NHL seasons, only once has Reimer not kicked at a .900 save percentage baseline – and that was last year (.890) in San Jose on a 29th place Sharks team. So, even in Reimer’s worst year, the Oilers would have allowed 11 fewer goals against this season at .890 compared to their current .867. Eleven fewer goals against in 17 games is a big deal – and that is Reimer’s worst. His career average of .911 over 482 games is much higher. Since 2010, 108 goalies have played at least 100 games and Reimer ranks 44th in save percentage among them. He’s played in a Canadian pressure cooker before. And Detroit is one of a few teams carrying three goalies right now, so with Ville Husso and Alex Lyon there, they certainly have the ability to move him. Reimer holds a seven-team, “no-trade” list as well.

2. Mackenzie Blackwood

San Jose Sharks
Age: 26
Stats: 13 GP, 3.94 GAA, .900 Sv%
Contract: 1 more season, $2.35 million AAV
Scoop: Just two years ago, we were talking about Blackwood as a possible Team Canada Olympic candidate for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. He was considered one of the bright, young goalies in the league with a .911 save percentage in his first three seasons (105 games) in the league. (Note: Blackwood’s best sustained run is still just Reimer’s career average.) His career has been derailed mostly by injury – a heel problem so bad that they had to carve out the back of his skate to provide relief. Blackwood got a fresh start in San Jose, the Sharks trading a 2023 sixth-round Pick for his signing rights. His numbers this season are better than you might realize considering how bad the Sharks have been in front of him. That said, it hasn’t been much prettier in Edmonton. The most interesting part of any trade involving Blackwood would be that the Sharks, who are rebuilding and have next to no draft capital, could be incentivized to take on Campbell’s contract as well.

3. Jake Allen

Montréal Canadiens
Age: 33
Stats: 8 GP, 3.54 GAA, .907 Sv%
Contract: 1 more season, $3.85 million AAV
Scoop: It’s no secret the Oilers have kept close tabs on Montreal’s goaltending situation, another team carrying three netminders right now with Samuel Montembault and Cayden Primeau. They don’t want to lose one on waivers. And both of those guys are mostly unproven, a risk for Edmonton. We know what Allen is now after 403 career games – and he’s a damn good goalie. Aside from his game, Allen has one big thing going for him – he’s universally respected and well-liked as a teammate and would be great to play in tandem with Skinner. There are also two detractors. One is health, he has struggled to remain upright at all times, he’s only made more than 35 appearances once in the last four seasons. And the other is price. Allen would be expensive, with the Canadiens sure to extract a solid return for Allen’s services given that he can bridge the gap from the Carey Price era to wherever the Canadiens are going next. No one is going to be throwing the Oilers a lifeline for free.

4. Karel Vejmelka

Arizona Coyotes
Age: 27
Stats: 10 GP, 3.18 GAA, .901 Sv%
Contract: 1 more season, $2.725 million AAV
Scoop: The Yotes like Vejmelka a lot. There’s not a lot to not like. Since being plucked out of the Czech league in 2021, “Veggie” has put up some pretty impressive numbers in parts of three seasons on some pretty bad Coyotes teams. He is one of the big reasons why the Yotes remained competitive beyond expectations last season. That said, the Coyotes can still likely achieve the same results this season with or without a workhorse like Vejmelka. Why? Connor Ingram is better than people realize. Arizona has the ability to take on Campbell’s deal as well and weaponize their cap space. They only have one first-round pick this season after picking twice in the Top 12 last year. The Coyotes want to compete for a playoff spot but the truth is Vejmelka is more valuable to Edmonton than he is to Arizona right now.

5. Carter Hart

Philadelphia Flyers
Age: 25
Stats: 10 GP, 2.40 GAA, .919 Sv%
Contract: Pending RFA, $3.979 million AAV
Scoop: Hart is unquestionably the best goaltender on this list. He’s from Edmonton. And if the price is right, the Flyers would likely be open to moving him. He might be 30 by the time the Flyers get to where GM Danny Briere envisions them being – and let’s face it, Hart’s stellar play is only holding Philadelphia back from better draft position right now. Hart would not only have the highest acquisition cost on this board, but he also has something hanging over his head as a member of Team Canada’s 2018 World Junior Championship team that has been embroiled in an appalling sexual assault investigation. That investigation has lingered on now – and some believe it has made Hart and other players connected to that team untradeable. In fact, it might even make him a nonstarter for the Oilers. Would anyone trade for him now not knowing what may be around the corner? Maybe not. But if he is assumed to be innocent until proven otherwise, he’s playing, and he’s playing at an incredibly high level.

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