San Jose Sharks Starting Goalie Becomes Available For Edmonton Oilers in Trade
This afternoon, the San Jose Sharks called up elite goalie prospect Yaroslav Askarov, and with no injuries to their other two goaltenders, logic follows that one goalie will be available for trade - and a fit for the Edmonton Oilers.
The Sharks acquired Askarov from the Predators in the offseason, after he demanded a trade to get more NHL ice time. He's since recovered from an injury and is now ready to play, which will put either Mackenzie Blackwood or Vitek Vanecek on the trade block.
With the Edmonton Oilers currently ranking near last place in every goaltending metric, plenty of fans noticed that the Sharks may be looking to make a deal, and Blackwood would be an incredible fit.
Blackwood is a 27 year old goaltender drafted in the second round of the 2015 Draft by the New Jersey Devils. Blackwood has gone on to play 207 career NHL games with a career .905 save percentage.
This season, his numbers have shot up to an incredible .914 save percentage - nearly 15 points higher than the current league average. Blackwood is on manageable contract for the rest of this season at $2.35M, a salary the Oilers could actually afford.
The Sharks are still a rebuilding team and will be more than willing to deal a 27 year old pending free agent like Blackwood this season.
The only question will be can the Oilers make a better offer to the Sharks than other interested teams.
The Edmonton Oilers don't need to give up on Skinner right now, but acquiring another younger goaltender posting good results to serve as a tandem goalie could be extremely beneficial.
Not only would the Oilers have another solid option to turn to if Skinner struggles, bringing in another starting goalie in their prime would push Skinner to bring his best every game - creating more of an internal competition.
Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard both have both been good this season, but the Oilers and their fans still have faith that Skinner can turn his game around.
That said, the results this season have been abysmal with no signs of turning around, so a shake up trade for Blackwood may be necessary.
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