Another goalie refuses to join the Oilers next season!

It looks like the Edmonton Oilers will be brand new in between the pipes for the start of the 2022-23 season. For weeks now, Oilers management is expecting the worst when it comes to veteran goalie Mike Smith, who could end up on the long-term injured reserve or even announcing his retirement this offseason. He has a year left on his current contract, which earns him 2.2 million dollars annually. Backup Mikko Koskinen left the team after signing a two-year contract in Switzerland, and so, it was expected that a new netminder would enter the picture in Edmonton.

However, as you know Marc-Andre Fleury won’t be one of them, and now another goalie is believed to have no interest in joining the Oilers.

According to Sportsnet’s Mark Spector, “John Gibson almost certainly has Edmonton on his no-trade list.”

“[…] American players in coastal locations almost never opt for an Edmonton or Winnipeg. If Gibson is willing, however, we’d bet Holland is all over that trade and willing to trade a top prospect, Puljujarvi and this year’s first in the deal.”

There are a lot of challenges for the Oilers this offseason as general manager Ken Holland is also working at re-signing top forward Evander Kane. He’ll need to make room on the cap floor and tough choices amongst his pending free agents while finding a solution in net!

Maybe the fact that Gibson and Fleury refuse to come to Edmonton helps Holland makes a decision, but it has to hurt!
Things in between the pipes are expected to be quite different in Edmonton in October.