Who are the 2025-26 Edmonton Oilers?
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The Oilers are STRUGGLING at five-on-five
November 10, 2025
November 10, 2025 by Jeff Ade
The goaltending position in the NHL could be described as a constant game of musical chairs. In most cases, teams need to send a goalie back the other way just to make the organizational goaltending depth work, even at the AHL level.
Let’s start with the obvious elephant in the room: the Edmonton Oilers’ goaltending situation. It’s the one area where I’ll cut General Manager Stan Bowman some slack, though not much. If you look over the NHL’s goaltending landscape, there isn’t exactly a long list of available upgrades. In truth, there’s not much out there that would qualify as a serious improvement. But at the same time, the Oilers have had more than a few years to address the issue.
The Oilers’ organizational depth in goal is somewhat crowded after acquiring Connor Ingram from the Utah Mammoth on October 1. Swedish goaltending prospect Samuel Jonsson, in his first season in North America, has been putting up incredible numbers in the ECHL; a 5-0-0 record, three shutouts, eight goals against, and a 1.57 goals against average.
It doesn’t matter if it’s the ECHL, those are fantastic numbers for a rookie pro goaltender. The question is when do the Oilers want to get Jonsson up to the Bakersfield Condors in the AHL? I believe the original plan was to have a Matt Tomkins and Jonsson tandem in Bakersfield until Ingram became available. Because of goaltending musical chairs, who do the Oilers move between Tomkins, who was just signed to a two-year contract on July 1, or the newly acquired Ingram?
Other NHL clubs like the Buffalo Sabres are currently carrying three goaltenders, including Alex Lyon, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Colten Ellis. Lyon signed a two-year contract with Buffalo this past July 1, earning $1.5 million per season. His 3-5-3 record so far isn’t particularly flattering, but a 2.92 goals against average and .912 save percentage are certainly numbers to work with. Lyon is the current starter in Buffalo’s three-goalie set up.
Colten Ellis, meanwhile, was claimed off waivers from the St. Louis Blues on October 6. He’s only played one game with the Sabres so far, but picked up the victory in his NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings, allowing two goals and posting a .935 save percentage. Ellis has reportedly received his housing papers from the Sabres, which is a sign he’s likely staying put in Buffalo. Ellis is also inked through 2026-27 at $775,000 annually.
That brings us to Luukkonen. The Finnish netminder pick is off to a 1-1-1 start with a 2.91 goals against average and an .877 save percentage. Luukkonen was plagued by injuries in training camp and spent a brief one-game conditioning stint in the AHL. He’s most likely the odd one out, but when? The Sabres drafted Luukkonen in the second round back in 2017, signed him to a five-year contract extension worth $4.75 million per season in July 2024. The Sabres have drafted, developed, and invested in him for years, but it may be time to move on.
Their goaltending situation is a bit unique, compared to most teams. The Sabres currently carrying three-goalies at both the NHL and AHL level. Their AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans have Devon Levi, Topias Leinonen, and Alexander Georgiev. That’s not a long-term ideal trio, especially since Levi and Leinonen are young prospects who need consistent playing time.
Levi has been putting up strong numbers in the AHL with a 6-1-0 record with a 2.59 goals against average and a .905 save percentage. The 23-year-old is waiver exempt for one more season, which the Sabres are taking full advantage of. The Sabres will yet again run into trouble next season when it’s time to promote Levi up to the NHL. The organization is reportedly working on moving Georgiev, but it’s hard to imagine there being much NHL interest. The most likely outcome might be a contract termination, allowing him to return to the KHL.
So, could there be a goalie trade between Buffalo and Edmonton? There’s a small chance, particularly involving Luukkonen, but it would be later in the season. Even then, it wouldn’t be easy to pull off, given the goaltending musical chairs issue. The three-goalie system at the NHL and AHL aren’t exact long-term solutions. The Sabres don’t have room for another netminder in either the NHL or AHL. Even their ECHL affiliate in Jacksonville already has first-year pro Scott Ratzlaff, who just earned ECHL Rookie of the Month honours for October. Buffalo would likely want Ratzlaff playing the bulk of the games at that level.
From Buffalo’s perspective, there’s no need for Stuart Skinner. The Sabres also wouldn’t have room for Calvin Pickard, even if they waived him to Rochester, just for them to then have three goalies there again. Whoever Edmonton sends back in this hypothetical deal would likely end up in the ECHL as a backup.
That leaves Nathaniel Day, who is the Fort Wayne Komets backup goaltender in the ECHL. I don’t envision Connor Ingram or Matt Tomkins being moved to Buffalo, or to become an ECHL goaltender in the Sabres organization. It appears the Buffalo Sabres are no in immediate rush to sort out their three-goalie situation. But when they do, I expect the Oilers to be circling around Luukkonen, possibly involving Day, given the game of goaltending musical chairs.
How they make the salaries and roster spots fit, though, that’s where the complexity comes in.
