February 18, 2022 by Kirk Morris

Goalies are voodoo. I’ve said this a million times.

Predicting seasons for goalies is as about as wild as depending on a magic 8-ball for answers as well.

Goalies are also the most important players on a team. They are literally your last line of defence between the puck and the goal. You cannot win a championship without an above average puck stopper. Full stop.

Going into the 2021-22 season, Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland had a bevy of cap space to work with to get something that the team hasn’t had since 2015 – a legitimate starting goalie. Did he get one? Nope. He decided to recapture lightning in a bottle once again, in re-signing 39-year-old tender Mike Smith to a two-year deal. Not one. TWO. I personally thought that this was a fail on the post-season report card.

There was also scuttlebutt on dealing away the 1B goalie in Mikko Koskinen for a replacement tender. That also didn’t happen.

So, instead of acquiring someone on the free agent market, Holland decided to risk it and keep the same tandem going into the new season. Three games in, Smith got injured on a freak play against Anaheim and has been on and off the Injured Reserve ever since.

And secondly, putting all the starters’ weight on a player like Koskinen who has historically not been consistent with long stretches of starts…didn’t end up well again-especially in December and going into January.

But this can’t be solely put on the goalies alone. Defensive play in front of the tenders has been subpar as well-even on the penalty kill, which has been anything but like the previous seasons.

The second miss of last summer came in the NHL draft, where Holland decided to not pick technical stalwart Jesper Wallstedt waiting in the wings at the 20th spot. He then decided to trade down two spots for another pick (they selected Lucas Muzenberger at 90th) with Minnesota. What does newly appointed Wild GM Bill Guerin do? You guessed right. Picking Xavier Bourgeault 22nd overall was an excellent choice nonetheless, but when you have a future franchise goalie waiting to be selected, why not pick the obvious choice?

Does Stuart Skinner, Olivier Rodrigue and Ilya Konovalov have that much stock in your system? Or did Holland and head amateur scout Tyler Wright did not see the value in Wallstedt? Rumour had it that they were extremely interested in picking Edmonton Oil King Sebastian Cossa (who wound up being selected 15th overall by the Detroit Red Wings). Why not trade up with Detroit then or anyone else? More questions and head scratching from me on that one. In my honest opinion, you can never have enough goalies in the cupboard.

Most recently, as everyone knows, head coach Dave Tippett and associate coach Jim Playfair were relieved of their duties. You can say that Tippett never had a starter to work with, even though he had a strong relationship with Mike Smith, in previous clubs with Dallas and Arizona. Coaches have their favourites, and Tippett was never shy in making it known that he favoured Smith over Koskinen.

Holland recently stated in a presser that “this is all on me, I built this team”. When asked about addressing the goaltending, he flubbed his answers-figuring re-signing Smith was the best option moving forward at the time.

What does the future hold now?

With the trade deadline looming just over a month away, and with new coaches Jay Woodcroft and Dave Manson helming the team for the time being, all attention is focused once again on Smith for staying injury free for a push to the playoffs.

There are still rumours about acquiring another goalie-Ville Husso with St. Louis, and Marc-Andre Fleury with Chicago. And there’s rumblings of giving more playing time to Stuart Skinner-who has statistically been the Oilers best goalie this season.

There’s a caveat on Husso though-he’s a UFA at the end of this season. I highly doubt Holland will pay a premium for a 1B goalie in a rental, just to lose him in the offseason. Plus, Husso is playing lights out for the Blues at the moment, I seriously have my doubts Doug Armstrong is going to move him as is with Binnington struggling.

Marc-Andre Fleury has made it crystal clear to Blackhawks management that he controls his destination with the trade deadline looming. Elliotte Friedman mentioned that the Washington Capitals were highly interested in his services. I doubt he’s coming to Edmonton, but I think it would be a good fit.

What would I do? I really don’t have a clue…I’m not a NHL GM! There’s inherent risk on bringing in a backup/1B goalie and getting rid of Koskinen….I have my favourites when it comes to dealing for replacements, but with the cap on the team at the ceiling, and Smith one groin pull away from retirement, who the heck knows what will happen now to the end of the year?

Are the Oilers cup contenders with addition of a playoff vet like Fleury? Perhaps. There’s just too many other unknowns that will get in the way that mars this teams’ destiny. Until then, keep your powder dry, as Allan Mitchell (@Lowetide) would say…or in my case, keep your stick on the ice.