It was a sobering reality on Wednesday night for the Edmonton Oilers, who have been plagued by goaltending problems for the last several years. Both Jack Campbell and Jeff Skinner were lit up for a combined eight goals in a stunning 8-1 setback against the Vancouver Canucks in the season opener, once again raising questions about the quality of play between the pipes.
It's no secret that Oilers GM Ken Holland is looking to maximize the window of championship opportunity while two of the best players in the NHL in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are under contract. And to that end, could he be looking to bolster Edmonton's goaltending?
To say that Campbell did not exactly live up to the $25 million contract in his first season with the Oilers would be an understatement. For the first half of the year, he sported a goals against average of just under 4.00, a save percentage well below .900, and zero shutouts. And while the goals he allowed Wednesday weren't exactly softies, there's no getting around the fact that he was yanked from the net yet again.
Could Holland look to the Boston Bruins for one of Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman? According to a source familiar with Boston Hockey Now, that's possible.
“I can tell you right now, a few more of those from either goalie, and Kenny is on the horn looking for a goalie,” an NHL executive source told Boston Hockey Now on Thursday night.
“If he’s getting a goalie, he’s getting the solution, not a stop-gap,” the same source opined. “I heard they definitely looked in on Ullmark and Swayman over the summer, so if that’s true, Kenny is calling Donny (Sweeney) soon, maybe.”
Both Ullmark and Swayman saw their names pop up in trade rumors over the summer, though no deal materialized. Ullmark still has term remaining on his current deal, while Swayman signed a one-year deal in arbitration and can be a free agent next summer.
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