Oilers Expected to Improve Goaltending This Offseason, Pundit Claims

The Edmonton Oilers were active at the 2025 Trade Deadline acquiring Jake Walman from the San Jose Sharks to bolster their defensive depth, as well as making a move with the Boston Bruins to bring in Trent Frederic and Max Jones to bolster their forward depth. Plenty of fans were hoping the Oilers would take a swing for a goaltender and improve their depth between the pipes, but they refused to do so, running into the postseason with a tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard. However, now it seems like the team is prepared to improve their goaltending situation this offseason when free agency comes around.

In a recent segment of Oilers Now, Bob Stauffer claimed he was sure that the team is looking to make a splash. Stauffer confidently stated “I know for a fact they’re gonna do that,” when discussing with Frank Seravalli if the Oilers would look to address their goaltending inconsistencies. Stauffer added, “I do expect Edmonton to engage in signing an organizational number three goalie that’s played in the National Hockey League in the last couple of years.” If Stauffer’s report is accurate, it seems as though the Oilers will continue with Skinner as their starter and create some competition for the backup spot on the Oilers, giving Pickard a bit of a challenge.

Which Goaltenders Could Be Available?

When taking a look at who could be available in free agency at an affordable price, the selections aren’t great. There are quite a few unrestricted free-agent goaltenders that the Oilers could consider like Vitek Vanecek, Alex Georgiev, and Ville Husso, but none of them are guaranteed upgrades on Pickard. One name that does stand out is 34-year-old Jake Allen, who currently plays for the New Jersey Devils backing up Jacob Markstrom and has had an incredibly strong season posting a 2.56 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .913 save percentage (SV%) through 27 games winning 12 of them and posting four shutouts.