November 6, 2023 by Ryan Lotsberg

Goaltending has been a major issue for the Edmonton Oilers in this young season. Stuart Skinner has a 3.62 GAA and a .861 save percentage. Jack Campbell has a 4.50 GAA and a .873 save percentage. According to Money Puck, Skinner and Campbell rank 67th and 64th respectively out of 71 qualified goaltenders in goals saved above expected this season. Also, Jason Gregor shared this on Monday:

Crazy stat of the day:
San Jose became the first team since 1965 to allow 10 goals in consecutive games.
Their goalies have a combined .873Sv% on the season. They're tied for 31st with Carolina.
Edmonton is 32nd at .867Sv%.

— Jason Gregor (@JasonGregor) November 6, 2023

However, Skinner was a finalist for the Calder Trophy after a solid rookie season last season, and Campbell posted a save percentage over .914 in three straight seasons prior to joining the Oilers. Both goalies have been NHL All-Stars in the past.

The Oilers have Stanley Cup aspirations in 2023-24. Is the Oilers goaltending good enough? 

Mike Dirsa, the host of the 97 Octane podcast, and Dash, the associate host of the Oilerslive podcast, will faceoff on the topic:

Dirsa: I don’t know how you can take those numbers and say the Oilers are getting Stanley Cup calibre net minding. The last line of defence simply isn’t at the level it needs to be at. There’s plenty of areas to point fingers at, but neither guy should be satisfied with their games.

Dash: We won’t know if the Oilers are getting Stanley Cup calibre goaltending until their teammates in front of them start playing with an effort and execution level higher than that of a Junior B club.

Blaming the goaltending right now is like blaming your tendy in Division 18 Rec League when forwards won’t backcheck beyond their own blue line, and the D-men are looking to see if their wife showed up in the stands yet.

Dirsa: Stuart Skinner casually goes out to play a puck on a powerplay and abandons his net giving up a shorty. Jack Campbell over commits to a wide angle play so bad he breaks his own ankles and leaves an easy wrap around goal because he can’t recover. In the same game, he gets beat on a cross crease one timer which can happen, but he doesn’t give himself a chance to make a save because he couldn’t even push across the other way because he’s really over aggressive to the point he’s committing so hard he can’t move. 

These are just three examples. No argument that the team in front of them needs to be better, but the team in front of them also needs them to start making some saves at key times. Neither goalie’s games have been at the level it’s going to take to go the distance, and right now they aren’t at the level to be able to steal a game against most teams in this league.

Dash: Never underestimate the randomness of hockey! Hockey is perhaps the least static of all the professional sports. Skinner and Campbell are part of a team dynamic. They are two parts of a twenty-man roster playing a team game. While on the ice, they are one part of a six-man team. Hockey is an incredibly fluid game where one mistake can easily lead to another, and another, and another. 

As a result, pointing fingers at three particular plays or three particular moments in time almost never tells the whole story. How can this team rightfully ask its goaltending to be its savior in those situations when the group in front of them keep setting them up for failure? Sure, neither goalie’s games have been at the level that it will take to go the distance, I agree… but there isn’t ONE single skater in front of them whose effort and execution have reached that level either.

Dirsa: For me, I’d say Warren Foegele might be the only Oiler that has consistently brought it every game. That’s good for him, but that’s not going to get you to the promised land. You need your goalies to stop most of the shots they should and some of the shots they shouldn’t. Neither is happening. The goalies are far from the only problem with this team, but I think it’s safe to say Skinner is having a sophomore slump and Campbell’s game is unpredictable.

Dash: I don’t think that is safe OR fair to say! More accurately, I would say that the Oilers’ game as a whole is in a slump and unpredictable. This goaltending tandem proved to us last year that they will go the way the team goes. If the team plays well, the goaltending follows. If the team plays poorly, the goaltending follows. It could be argued that we haven’t had a goaltender that can consistently steal games for us since Curtis Joseph. As long as this hockey club remains dead last in giving up high danger chances and remains dead last in giving up odd-man rushes, we will remain dead last in giving up goals on high danger odd-man rushes. Team game. Team results.

Dirsa: The goaltending position isn’t fair and can be downright cruel. You’re relied upon to be the last line of defence. That’s the job. It’s the most important position in the game and something this franchise has neglected since the Sather days. The numbers are cruel, but they are there and they scream that our goaltending needs to improve. The goaltending is not the only problem plaguing this team, but they aren’t helping to turn the tide either. We are ten games in and they have had a very favourable schedule, but still only have two wins. Everyone in the organization needs to be better or we will be in the “bust” part of “Cup or bust” before American Thanksgiving.

Dash: When the team plays better, so will the goaltenders. When the team effort increases, so will the goalies’ performances. When the team executes their planned strategy, the goalies’ numbers will certainly improve. An entire team’s strategic mistakes can compound to make a goalie look poor. An entire team’s mental mistakes can amalgamate and reflect directly on a goaltender’s presentation. Lack of trust creeps in. Aggression creeps in. Timing changes. Confidence changes. Goaltending is only ONE part of a team’s successful formula, and they play the games in order to find out how one catalyst affects the next to create a string of ugly losses. Campbell has shown flashes of brilliance in his career, and Skinner was a Calder Trophy nominee and All-Star in his rookie year. Relatively speaking, the goaltending is good enough; the team just simply isn’t giving them the opportunity to show it! 

You said it: Everyone in the organization needs to be better, or we will be in the “bust” part of “Cup or bust” before American Thanksgiving.

Related: Oilers Glaring Individual Mistakes

Regardless of your stance on the matter, the goaltenders for the Oilers aren’t going to be changing. Skinner is a young, home grown talent that is likely to be here for years to come. Campbell’s five million dollars could be better spent, but he’s got a ten team modified no trade clause. The teams with the cap space to absorb Campbell’s contract aren’t exactly world beaters either, so the odds of those teams not being on his no-trade list are low. One of those teams would also have to be willing to take on the last four years of his contract, which is extremely unlikely.

The Oilers are going to have to figure it out with Skinner and Campbell as the goaltending tandem whether we like it or not.