How the Oilers could potentially solve their glaring goaltending problem

While Edmonton Oilers fans and media debate just how much blame Jack Campbell deserves for the team’s disastrous start, the bottom line is that Campbell hasn’t gotten the job done.

Such a thought was truly cemented after the Oilers waived their $5M goalie to demote him to the AHL on Tuesday, as no reasonable team will take Campbell off Edmonton’s hands without a bribe. To put things mildly, it won’t be easy for the Oilers to trade Campbell — especially if they want a viable goalie in return — but it just might be necessary.

Let’s be honest: the best time to move Campbell was probably this past offseason, when teams were making bigger moves and Connor Hellebuyck was still on the market. Failing that, they could have embraced a painful reality and bought Campbell out.

Big, splashy offseason goalie trades are already rare. Making moves with a lot of moving parts in-season raises the difficulty level even higher, particularly for a goalie with term like Campbell. It’s not just that his cap hit is a painful $5M, it’s that the 31-year-old’s albatross deal runs through 2026-27.

Whether or not the team can move Campbell at this point doesn’t really matter, as Oilers GM Ken Holland has to find a way to acquire a netminder before Edmonton’s season is completely off the rails and another year of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl’s primes fades away.

So, here are some options Holland can pursue in search of that elusive ‘tendy:

Saros, the Sharks and serious considerations

Predators — Juuse Saros

A blockbuster trade involving Saros was an easier sell in the offseason, before Andrew Brunette had a chance to optimize a modest Predators roster.

If the Oilers went swimming with the dracula squid and truly went all-out with a huge offer for Saros, such a trade could still make a lot of sense for Nashville, though.

The Predators should probably embrace a rebuild more fully, and with that, betting on 21-year-old goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov makes the most sense. Saros, 28, figures to get a massive raise from his bargain $5M AAV after next season. Will it really make sense for the Predators to be the team that pays Saros?

Moving Campbell’s $5M to Saros for this and next season would be enormously valuable for the Oilers. Beyond his outstanding numbers and arguably excessive workload, Saros ranks as one of the most athletic goalies in the league. Stylistically, there may not be a better option for an Oilers team that’s currently getting decimated off of the rush (and a team likely to trade those chances even when things are going well).

Such a win-win but bold solution is probably too rich and sensible for NHL blood, yet it would be brilliant for the Oilers and shrewd work by the Predators. Oh well.

Sharks — MacKenzie Blackwood

If the Oilers are a Dumpster fire in an unexpected place, the Sharks are one behind an abandoned building. On face value, you maybe don’t want to go dumpster-diving in a receptacle billowing with smoke.

Context makes the Sharks possibly the most feasible option for a Campbell trade, however.

Maybe most importantly, this team is in for a lengthy rebuild. With that, they can either use Campbell’s cap hit to reach the salary floor, shrug off a buyout with little worry, or do both.

Edmonton may also view a goalie such as MacKenzie Blackwood as this year’s Korpisalo: a goaltender quietly putting up respectable numbers in a moribund situation. Blackwood carries a $2.35M cap hit through next season, while fellow young Sharks goalie Kaapo Kahkonen would be a rental at $2.75M.

Salary retention could make the deal even sweeter, although the Sharks may prefer to save their third slot to get rid of a problem contract.

Overall, it’s not clear if the Sharks present the “best” solution for the Oilers’ Campbell problem, but they rank among the most feasible trade partners. Really, if Sharks GM Mike Grier isn’t at least broaching the subject, he’s letting his team down as much as they are letting him down.

Blackhawks — Petr Mrazek

Ken Holland loves former Detroit Red Wings, even mediocre ones. If the Blackhawks retained a chunk of Mrazek’s rather aggressive $3.8M, the Oilers could bolster Chicago’s rebuild with even more draft picks and/or prospects.

If you squint, Mrazek sports the sort of athleticism that could fit well in Edmonton. His injury history and erratic results would likely creep up, so the biggest lure in this hypothetical situation would likely be wiggling out of Campbell’s contract. Theoretically, Mrazek wouldn’t even need to be involved.

Flyers — Carter Hart

Trading for Carter Hart before the 2018 Hockey Canada investigation concludes would be poor form even for an Oilers franchise with a history of employing players with ugly pasts.

However, on the ice, there’s no denying this is a solid potential fit considering his pedigree, where he’s from (Alberta), his age (25) and the sub-$4M cap hit he carries.

Hart has been solid so far this year on a surprisingly not-terrible Flyers team, posting a 4-3-0 record to go with a .913 save % in seven appearances so far.

Wait for these rebuilders to slip?

Anaheim Ducks

The Ducks are playing at a much higher level after they got rid of former Oilers coach Dallas Eakins. With that, a deal involving John Gibson and Campbell is likely less appetizing, at least for now.

Such a gamble would make for fascinating theatre because Gibson’s contract also runs through 2026-27 at a higher AAV of $6.4M. Gibson’s been a divisive goalie even during his peak years, so if the Oilers pulled off a trade with the Ducks, they’d be gambling in net again — and with the same term.

That’s definitely scary, but if Oilers management truly believed in Gibson’s potential on a more proven team — and bribed the Ducks to take Campbell and focus on Lukas Dostal — then it would be one of the most fascinating Hail Mary hockey trades in ages.

Arizona Coyotes

From the standings to the eye test, the Coyotes look downright respectable so far this season. They may view multiple years of Karel Vejmelka and Connor Ingram at $4.675M combined as too great a potential competitive advantage to give up, especially for a penny-pinching franchise.

What if this would count as selling high on someone like Vejmelka, though? They don’t necessarily need to rush to trade a buzz-worthy 27-year-old who’s on a $2.75M clip for this and next season, but the Oilers also could be desperate enough to really break the pick-and-prospect bank for him.

Apropos of nothing: Campbell costs $5M this season, $5.4M next, $4.2M in 2025-26 and $3.9M in 2026-27, with all of his signing bonuses already paid off. Sounds like an Arizona type to me.

Oddball options

Canadiens and Blue Jackets: These rebuilding(-ish?) teams make sense, but the money’s a little tighter. Keep an eye on these squads if a Campbell trade push happens around deadline time, however. Habs netminder Jake Allen could be in play here.

Blues: The Oilers seem like they’d be lured into Jordan Binnington’s hot start. You may have heard that Holland covets players with Stanley Cups on their resume, sometimes to his detriment.

Capitals: Darcy Kuemper is another goalie with a similar contract: $5.25M AAV through 2026-27. He won a Stanley Cup recently, is a large goalie and the Caps probably need to shake out of rebuild denial one of these days. That could be a tempting combination.