![\"goalies\"](\"https:\/\/smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital\/edmontonjournal\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/oilersgoalies58.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\ngoalies<\/p>\n
My take<\/p>\n
1. I can see the Condors moving out a goalie to make way for Pickard. That makes sense. But why Ungar? Why not veteran 31-year-old Matt Tomkins?<\/p>\n
Yes, Ungar has cooled off a bit from his red hot start to the season, but there\u2019s still a non-zero chance that if things go poorly enough with Edmonton\u2019s other goalies this year that Ungar might be part of a \u2018Hail Mary\u2019 attempt to rectify things. Should he not be playing at the highest level of competition in case that were to come to pass?<\/p>\n
And looking ahead to next season, should his development not be the organizational priority over Tomkins\u2019 development.<\/p>\n
2. I could see if Bakersfield wanted to give pretty much all its games to get the rust off of\u00a0 Pickard, who has been sitting for almost two months, that it might be a good idea for Ungar to get steady starts in the ECHL. But AHL teams tend to play many back-to-back games, including two sets of them this week, where two goalies are needed in any case.<\/p>\n
3. Tristan Jarry struggled after coming coming back from injury in January. But the Oilers invested heavily in him, moving out goalie Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak. Connor Ingram has also trended down.<\/p>\n
Chances are one of those two goalies will start to play better hockey behind a defence led again by coach Paul Coffey. But I still can\u2019t see how it would not have been preferable to keep Ungar in Bakersfield and to see how he plays as compared to Pickard.<\/p>\n
If Ungar got hot again, and Pickard stayed cold in Bako, could not Edmonton\u2019s next move in case of injury or total goalie meltdown be calling up Ungar over Pickard? That option, essentiallly, has now been taken off the table.<\/p>\n
At the Cult of Hockey<\/p>\n