The Edmonton Oilers came into their 2023-24 campaign with high hopes and a goal of winning the Stanley Cup. That goal was magnified when both Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl mentioned that this season could be a “Cup or bust” campaign for them. Unfortunately, they started the season 3-9-1, and nobody had any answers as to what was going wrong both on and off the ice. The team decided to fire Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson in a surprising move in hopes of shaking up the team to spark something and replaced them with Kris Knoblauch and Paul Coffey. They also chose to send down Jack Campbell and call up Calvin Pickard after a brutal start from Campbell.
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With many fans having different opinions on what could be going wrong in Edmonton, one area that was heavily criticized early on was the team’s lack of consistent goaltending. Stuart Skinner didn’t have the best start himself, but was playing better than Campbell and rightfully earned back the starting position for the rest of the season, and Pickard has played quite well in his new role as a backup goaltender. While fans were putting pressure on the Oilers to make a trade for a goaltender, as many believed that would solve all of their problems, there was one name that kept coming up in potential trade discussions.
The Columbus Blue Jackets are in full rebuild mode this season and are likely looking at a few more seasons of mediocrity before they’re able to contend again. With Johnny Gaudreau and Adam Fantilli running the show with a good support group in Boone Jenner and Zach Werenski, amongst others, they haven’t been able to find anything that works to make them contenders, and this feels like it will be another season where they finish at the bottom of the standings. They haven’t had any real strengths, and it seems as though they’ll be selling come the trade deadline this season.
While the Oilers have turned their season around having found themselves on a 10-game winning streak, the Blue Jackets have continued to struggle as of late. While they won their last game against the red-hot Vancouver Canucks, that was their first win in their last four games played, and they sit last in the Metropolitan Division with a 14-21-9 record. After the win against the Canucks, Elvis Merzlikins made headlines after clarifying he had requested a trade from the Blue Jackets after months of being underutilized.
Circling back to the Oilers, who may have had some interest in Merzlikins at the beginning of the season, while they were struggling. With his name coming up in trade talks and his clarification that he no longer wants to be a Blue Jacket, the fit with the Oilers makes sense, however, it isn’t something they should consider doing when there are better trade options on the market that won’t cost as much against their salary cap.
The Oilers will likely continue to gauge the market for goaltenders as we near the trade deadline, I am sure they’d like to upgrade from Pickard as a backup heading into the postseason, but Merzlikins isn’t someone they need. With Campbell’s contract still on the books and Merzlikins being paid more than him, there’s no way this trade makes sense unless Campbell goes the other way, and that doesn’t make sense for the Blue Jackets either unless the Oilers add a few assets.
As I said, there are plenty of other goaltenders on the market that would be smarter options to pursue instead of Merzlikins for several reasons, the biggest one being money issues for the Oilers. Merzlikins is in the second season of his contract that extends through the end of the 2026-27 season, and it’s worth $5.4 million, to put it in the nicest way possible, that is a severe overpay. The Oilers don’t have the cap space to take that on right now unless they move out Campbell, which would be smart, but I highly doubt the Blue Jackets don’t ask for retention on Campbell’s deal and some future assets they can utilize.
Another issue would be Merzlikins’ consistency as a goaltender. This season, he has posted a 3.22 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .906 save percentage (SV%) through 24 games. While that doesn’t seem too bad, he is coming off of a rough 2022-23 campaign where he posted a 4.23 GAA and a .876 SV%. At the time of this article being written, Merzlikins’ goals saved above expected (GSAx) is sitting at a plus-1, which is solid but only places him in the middle of the pack and doesn’t justify overpaying both his contract and assets in a trade for him.
With all that being put together, it just doesn’t make sense for the Oilers to put together a massive trade package to bring him to Edmonton. He is a good goalie and can still play well at the NHL level, but he isn’t someone who makes sense for the Oilers right now.
What Other Goaltending Options Are Out There?
If the Oilers do believe they need a goaltending upgrade, there are plenty more options on the market that would be better opportunities to explore. Dan Vladar from the Calgary Flames has been underperforming slightly, but he has a much better contract at $2.2 million and likely wouldn’t cost as much to trade for. Karel Vejmelka from the Arizona Coyotes has been having a decent season with a minus-0.7 GSAx through 19 games with a team fighting for a playoff spot, and again, he is much more affordable with a $2.725 million contract.
Mackenzie Blackwood, Kaapo Kahkonen, and Jake Allen are a few more names that come to mind for potential goaltending trade targets, all of which would be better choices than Merzlikins. With plenty of time left until the trade deadline, it would make sense for the Oilers to do their due diligence on plenty of players, including goaltenders, to see if they can find the right fit.
Regardless, the Oilers have time to make a decision. They are on a ten-game winning streak and seem to be in no rush to make any big changes any time soon. For their sake, though, they should at least be gauging the market for a backup goaltender and trying to pull the trigger eventually on a move to bolster their depth. If Skinner goes down with an injury, the Oilers don’t have much hope in Pickard and Campbell, so hopefully, they make a move this season that helps them win their first Stanley Cup since 1990.