Sportsnet: Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland has asked about how well the goaltending has been during their winning streak and how it will affect their thoughts heading into the trade deadline.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Reporter: “The team has been getting some great goaltending over this 13-game winning streak. Obviously, Stuart Skinner, fantastic. But Calvin Pickard has been able to play pretty well as well. So I was wondering how that kind of will affect your plans going into the trade deadline here in the next few months?”
Holland: “When players are playing really good, those are nice problems to have. So you know, our pro scouts are flying in . I think like most teams, all 32 teams in the National Hockey League, I think last week or this week, they’re having pro meetings. We’re going to pro meetings here. Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday.
Have been reaching out, I have been reaching out and had some communication with many general managers over the last week in preparation, to kind of to see what some teams out there might be thinking. We have to decide what we’re thinking.
In the meantime, the most important thing is that we’ve kept winning. We’ve obviously put ourselves into, we’re in the playoffs today, but we need to keep, keep winning games putting keep, keep kind of solidifying a playoff position. That’s going to happen over the next over the next month.
I do anticipate that most trades are going to happen, March 8th is the deadline, say the last couple of weeks leading into that. So I just keep watching.
Stu Skinner’s playing, I think as good as any goaltender I know, was he at .940, .935, .946 save percentage over the last 15, 16, 17 games? Our team’s playing really good team defense. You know, obviously, right now everything’s going good. Now, again, it’s the NHL, I’ve been around for a long time, at some point in time it comes off a little bit and goes the other way, you know?
So that’s why, when I talk to Rob about the importance of having lots of players and lots of depth but I don’t have, really have an answer for you. Got to bring our people in. I got to keep watching games, and ultimately make a decision.
But Cal Pickard’s playing great. Stu Skinner’s playing great. Actually, Jack Campbell is playing great now. He got off to a real tough start in in Bakersfield. I think in his last 11 games he’s over a 920 almost a .920 save percentage. I know he give up two goals in 35 shots thereabouts on Saturday night. He’s had lots of those over the last little while.
So those are good problems. Those are, those aren’t bad problems, but we’ll kind of assess what we’re going to do here over the next three days and then start to work the phones. It depends what’s going on out there. And, and as Robin said, hopefully, hopefully this and with Corey we can keep winning and things, things, things look good. So just got to keep watching.”
