Despite being handed a five-year, $25 million contract from Ken Holland this offseason, Jack Campbell was never guaranteed to be a star-quality netminder. He had never really endured a full season as a starter at the NHL level, and despite having some success during his time with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was also known to be rather inconsistent.
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Inconsistent is a good way to describe Campbell’s tenure in Oil Country so far. If anything, it may be generous. Through eight games, he owns a cringeworthy 4.20 goals against average (GAA) paired with a .874 save percentage (SV%). His latest outing on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 5) may have been his worst to date, as he allowed six goals on just 36 shots.
To Campbell’s credit, the Oilers have been able to rack up five wins over his eight appearances, meaning that at the very least he is making enough saves to help lead them to victories. That said, the wins thus far have spoken more about the play of the guys in front of him instead of his performance. Simply put, they need more from him moving forward.
Campbell Paid to Make Big Saves
Many of Campbell’s defenders early into the 2022-23 season have been quick to point to the fact that the Oilers don’t have the deepest blue line, resulting in him often being left hung out to dry. They aren’t necessarily wrong in that assessment, as many of the goals he has allowed to this point have by no means been soft.
With that said, a true number one goaltender, which Campbell is being paid to be, not only makes the stops he is supposed to but stops a number of chances they aren’t supposed to, as well. To this point, the 30-year-old has yet to make many of those big saves.
Going back to the Oilers’ blue line issues, it isn’t necessarily fair to blame Campbell’s struggles entirely on them. After all, Stuart Skinner, who was viewed as the clear backup entering this season, has an incredible 2.10 GAA along with a .944 SV% in four outings. This goes to show that, while Campbell hasn’t been as bad as his numbers suggest, he still needs to be much better moving forward.
Oilers Good Enough to Overcome Shaky Regular Season Goaltending
If there is one positive to take away from Campbell’s early season struggles, it’s that for the most part, the Oilers have proven they can win on any given night regardless of their goaltenders’ performances. The top-end skill of this team is arguably more elite than any other in the NHL. Because of this, they are capable of winning high-scoring affairs.
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While those high-scoring games may result in wins for this club in the regular season, however, they will be much harder come the playoffs. In a seven-game series, opposing teams are able to prepare much better game plans in regard to shutting down their opponent, making offense harder to come by. Of course, that didn’t prove to be a major issue for the Oilers in their second-round series versus the Calgary Flames earlier this year, though it did take them seven games to knock off the Los Angeles Kings the round prior.
The point in this is to say that, while Campbell’s play hasn’t been a major issue just yet, it will be if it continues late into the season and in the playoffs. While some will suggest it may not matter given Skinner’s play, you can bet head coach Jay Woodcroft would rather have his $5 million man in the net in the playoffs rather than the 23-year-old rookie.
Campbell Will Have a Chance to Right the Ship Very Soon
Despite plenty of Oilers fans calling on the team to give Skinner every start in the immediate future, we will likely see Campbell back between the pipes very soon. The reason is that they have a back-to-back coming up early this week, the first of which will come Monday against the Washington Capitals, and the second the following night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Neither will be an easy matchup for the struggling Oilers netminder, but nonetheless, it will provide him with an opportunity to get his game back on track. If he struggles once again, Skinner will become the team’s undisputed number one for the immediate future.