Edmonton Oilers linked to three rentals for a goalie upgrade at the trade deadline
The Edmonton Oilers may have some additional cap space to spend at the trade deadline, and with that, they should be considering adding to their goaltending - with one interesting option from Detroit available.
The Oilers have signalled they may instead pursue a forward at the trade deadline after the signing of Klingberg, so hopefully they're also considering an add in net to address their biggest weakness.
Oilers fans raise Alex Lyon as interesting goalie trade target for Edmonton
If the Oilers do make an addition to their crease, the economical move is to upgrade on Calvin Pickard and add some insurance behind Stuart Skinner. This may take John Gibson and his $6.4M salary out of the question, although he waived his no move clause for Edmonton.
However, there's still a number of decent goaltenders on affordable contracts in their final year that make a real difference for Edmonton. One Oilers fan raised 3 candidates for trade that have vastly outperformed Calvin Pickard.
Karel Vejmelka has been incredible this season, and would be the best option available if Utah Hockey club would be open to dealing him. He's got a .913 save percentage in 29 games, with $2.725M in salary.
Veteran goalie James Reimer is on the list, despite not playing much hockey in the last two years. The 35 year old veteran of 510 career games has a .903 save percentage this season and great analytics in the last few years - with only $1M in salary.
However, the most likely option for the Oilers may be Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon. The 32 year old makes only $900K, less than Pickard, and has posted a .901 save percentage this year with 5.44 Goals Saved Above Expected. Lyon even has some playoff experience with the Florida Panthers in the 2022-23 season.
On the flip side, Calvin Pickard currently has -2.19 goals saved above expected, with an .899 save percentage in usage mostly against weak teams.
If the Oilers have a bit of extra salary cap space to spend this season with Evander Kane out, they should strongly consider adding some insurance to their goal crease - it may make the most difference to the team in the playoffs in case of injury.
