Oilers Jack Campbell Possible Trade Destinations Revealed
Jack Campbell's play in net has deteriorated significantly this season. When GM Ken Holland signed him to a five-year $5 million AAV deal this summer, he thought his goaltender issues were over.
Stating that Campbell has struggled is a vast understatement. He has just a 8-7-1 record with an underwhelming 3.90 GAA, and a .876 save percentage. And that was after a good performance against the Winnipeg Jets where he just allowed two goals. Unfortunately Connor Hellebuyck only allowed one goal.
It seems like that is the way things have gone for Campbell this season. His confidence has to be on a downward spiral at this point.
With the lack of performance concerning the Oilers' management, the team has had internal discussions regarding the merits of trading Campbell.
There are a few teams who could possibly be interested in acquiring Campbell and giving him a shot at improving.
The L.A. Kings are a team who is also having concerns in net. Jonathan Quick is not getting any younger, and Calvin Petersen has been sent down to the AHL to find his game. Whether the Kings could afford Campbell's salary and Petersen's who both have $5 million cap hits is another story.
Another team who could attempt to add Campbell would be the Buffalo Sabres. They have $31 million in cap space and could use his services especially with the team starting to play playoff level hockey.
Two dark horse destinations could also be the Chicago Blackhawks or the Florida Panthers. The Hawks are playing really poorly and are in a rebuild. Still, going forward a goalie like Campbell wouldn't be bad for a team in a rebuild. The five-year contract could be an issue.
The Panthers have been rumoured to want rid themselves of Sergei Bobrovsky's burdensome $10 million contract through 2025-26. They have signed Spencer Knight to a three-year $4.5 million AAV deal. Still, if they can unload Bobrovsky, they would have an excellent tandem of Campbell and Knight going forward.
Campbell could still work out in Edmonton. They could send him to Bakersfield and hope he can get his head back in his game. The change of scenery may do him some good to get back on track.
Centainly, Ken Holland doesn't want to trade Campbell, but the way things have gone it appears he may not have a choice. The Oilers are not tearing it up, but have the exact same record as last season at 20-16-2 after 38 games.
They will of course need to play as well or better in the their remaining 44 games to finish as well as last season. That means they will need to go 29-11-4 to finish off the current campaign. Not impossible, but getting better goaltending and defence is imperative.
| POLL | ||
If Jack Campbell is traded, where will he go? | ||
| L.A. Kings | 247 | 23.5 % |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 282 | 26.8 % |
| Buffalo Sabres | 395 | 37.6 % |
| Florida Panthers | 127 | 12.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
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