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\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGetty\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
The Edmonton Oilers have apparently passed on the top remaining UFA goaltender, according to a notable NHL insider.<\/p>\n
The Edmonton<\/a> Oilers have been looking to find some sort of solution to their apparent shortcomings in the crease this season.<\/p>\n One of the solutions that has emerged has been the signing of Alberta native and recently-acquitted netminder Carter Hart<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ever since Hart and the other players involved in the Hockey Canada trial were cleared of criminal charges, speculation began about Hart joining the Oilers.<\/p>\n However, insider Frank Seravalli shot down that idea during an appearance on B\/R Open Ice on September 16.<\/p>\n He stated:<\/p>\n \u201cCarter Hart is not going to be signing with the hometown Edmonton Oilers. I\u2019ve been told that that\u2019s a non-starter for the Oilers organization, and that they\u2019re not going down that path, even though they could probably use a change in net, or at least a battle or competition.\u201d<\/p>\n While Seravalli didn\u2019t go into the specifics of why the Oilers would seemingly pass on adding Hart, the fact is that the Oilers might be looking for help in a different direction.<\/p>\n It\u2019s worth pointing out that the goalie market is at a standstill at the moment. So, it\u2019s not clear where the Oilers might be able to find help in the crease.<\/p>\n Both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard are heading into the final year of their respective deals. So, it would make sense for the Oilers to explore other options to replace Skinner or Pickard if extending them is not in the cards.<\/p>\n Oilers Could Use More Organizational Goaltending Depth<\/p>\n The Edmonton Oilers\u2019 organizational goalie depth<\/a> is concerning. Beyond Skinner and Pickard, the club doesn\u2019t have a solid NHL goalie in the system.<\/p>\n The Oilers signed Matt Tomkins<\/a> this offseason, essentially as their third-string goalie. However, Tomkins has all of six games of NHL experience with the Tampa Bay Lightning during the 2023-24 season.<\/p>\n The Chicago Blackhawks<\/a>\u2018 seventh-round pick from the 2012 NHL Draft has been a career-long AHL netminder. Yet, he\u2019s the next line of defense if one of Skinner or Pickard goes down.<\/p>\n That\u2019s an alarming prospect, especially for a team looking to get back to the Stanley Cup Final for a third year in a row.<\/p>\n On the bright side, Tomkins had a good showing with the AHL Syracuse Crunch last season. He posted a 2.55 GAA and a 0.907 SV% in 26 games. So, Tomkins would be a solid addition to the Oilers\u2019 AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors.<\/p>\n Edmonton Must Prioritize Organization Depth<\/p>\n The Oilers have three other netminders in the system. They are all 23 or under and unlikely to make an impact at the NHL level this season.<\/p>\n That situation, again, is not becoming of a Stanley Cup contender. The Oilers must prioritize their organizational depth if they are to remain competitive for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n Edmonton could take a page out of the Buffalo Sabres\u2019 book. The Sabres recently signed UFA goalie Alexandar Georgiev to a one-year deal. Georgiev, while hardly a starting goaltender at this point, provided the Sabres with plenty of depth.<\/p>\n Georgiev, as a third-stringer, provides excellent depth behind starter Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and backup Alex Lyon. That\u2019s the sort of situation the Oilers must emulate. There\u2019s still time for the club to pick up one or two free-agent goalies.<\/p>\n Time is running out for the Oilers to prove to Connor McDavid they are serious about winning.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tNestor Quixtan<\/a> Seasoned NHL analyst focused on covering all 32 teams with news, analysis, and insights. Originally from Toronto, Canada, Nestor’s singular experiences and background have enabled him to bring a different take on the sports world as a whole. More about Nestor Quixtan<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Oilers\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty The Edmonton Oilers have apparently passed on the top remaining UFA goaltender, according to a notable NHL…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":149411,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[556],"tags":[64,63,575,85],"class_list":["post-149410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149411"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}