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Jack Campbell

Oilers Notes: Goaltending, Bourgault, Coaching

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Edmonton’s goaltending situation certainly hasn’t been good this season with Stuart Skinner and now-demoted Jack Campbell combining for a 4.10 GAA and a .862 SV%, a big reason why the Oilers are now tied with San Jose for last in the NHL.  Accordingly, there has been an expectation that a move will be made to shore up their netminders.  In a recent 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed that there were some in the league who thought Edmonton was nearing a deal to do just that on Wednesday.  Clearly, that hasn’t come to fruition (yet, at least) but it would appear as if GM Ken Holland is trying to get something done on that front.  But with the team in a money-in, money-out situation to stay cap-compliant, it’ll be easier said than done.

More from Edmonton:

  • Speaking today on TSN 690 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger indicated that prospect Xavier Bourgault is “a piece the Canadiens have coveted for a while”. The 21-year-old was the 22nd pick back in 2021 and is in his second season with AHL Bakersfield.  A strong scorer in junior, Bourgault had a decent rookie campaign with 34 points in 62 games last season while he has four in seven contests so far this year.  Montreal is one of the teams still carrying three goalies although Jake Allen might not work in their salary structure, extension talks have started with Samuel Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau isn’t the proven solution between the pipes that Edmonton should be looking for.
  • TSN’s Ryan Rishaug relayed earlier today (Twitter link) that nothing was imminent with regards to possible coaching change. Jay Woodcroft is only in his second full season with the team and even with the ugly start this season, his teams have played to a .640 point percentage.  Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski notes that a change, if one is made, would give them their fifth bench boss in eight years with a good chunk of the core there for all of those moves.  As a result, while making a move behind the bench might be the easiest lever to pull, recent history would suggest that it might not change a whole lot.

Edmonton Oilers Place Jack Campbell On Waivers, Recall Calvin Pickard

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Nov. 8: As expected, Campbell has cleared waivers, and Pickard has been recalled from AHL Bakersfield, per the team’s Twitter/X account.

Nov. 7: In a surprising announcement, the Edmonton Oilers have placed goaltender Jack Campbell on waivers today, for the purpose of assignment. With plenty of changes seemingly coming to the Oilers after a horrific start to the year, Edmonton has decided to expose Campbell and the $20MM remaining on his contract to the rest of the league.

Back during the 2021-22 regular season, the Oilers ran with a duo of Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith throughout the year, a duo who led the team to the Western Conference Finals before ultimately being swept at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. In an attempt to dramatically improve their goaltending, Edmonton inked Campbell to a five-year, $25MM contract, prying him away from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

However, the investment has not gone accordingly for either side of the deal. In his first year as an Oiler, Campbell maintained a solid 21-9-4 record in 34 starts but also carried a .888 SV% and a 3.41 GAA. Ultimately, Campbell was replaced in the crease by rookie netminder, Stuart Skinner, who held a .913 SV% and a 2.75 GAA in 48 starts, comparatively. Nevertheless, Campbell was able to get in four starts during the 2022-23 NHL playoffs, posting dramatically improved numbers with a .961 SV% and a 1.01 GAA.

If there was any hope of Campbell carrying his playoff performance in this year’s regular season, that hope has quickly evaporated. In five starts on the year up to this point, Campbell has a 1-4-0 record, coupled with a .873 SV% and a 4.50 GAA. Although not the entire reason, the lack of adequate goaltending is a substantial factor in the Oilers’ ugly 2-8-1 record to start the 2023-24 season.

In the meantime, as it would be more than reasonable to assume Campbell will go unclaimed on waivers over the next 24 hours, PuckPedia reports that Edmonton will save approximately $1.15MM once Campbell clears and is sent down. Furthermore, Frank Seravalli of the DailyFaceoff indicates that the Oilers plan on replacing Campbell with Calvin Pickard, who is currently serving as the primary starter of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. If the team does call up Pickard, PuckPedia reports that Edmonton will only be saving approximately $388K with the move.

Although Pickard should not be seen as a long-term answer in the net, he ultimately may serve as an upgrade to both Edmonton goaltenders. Similarly to Campbell, Skinner has gotten off to an incredibly slow start with a 1-4-1 record, .856 SV%, and a 3.99 GAA. Pickard, on the other hand, holds a 2-2-0 record for the Condors so far this season, with a .939 SV% and a 2.03 GAA.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report that the Oilers were placing Campbell on waivers. 

Edmonton Oilers Rank Last In Salary Cap Rankings

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Daily Faceoff has ranked the Edmonton Oilers last in salary cap efficiency. This comes as no surprise after the website began its annual salary cap rankings list and after a deep dive into the numbers determined that there isn’t a team in a worse situation financially than the Oilers. It isn’t a shock given the Oilers current salary cap woes. The team finds itself with just 21 players on the roster and only $382,499 in cap space. Though finishing dead last on the list is new, Edmonton ranked second last in last year’s version of the list.

Daily Faceoff’s ranking system looks at no-move clauses, dead cap space, the quality of long-term contracts, bargain contracts, and the good deals versus the bad ones. Unfortunately, based on those criteria, it is easy to see why the Oilers find themselves at the bottom of that list. Edmonton has several problematic contracts on their books, and while they have some bargains like Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The bad deals outweigh the great ones.

Darnell Nurse is a really good defenseman; he eats a ton of minutes for the Oilers and plays a lot of tough situations. However, he does suffer a lot of mental lapses, and at $9.25 million a season, he just doesn’t bring the offensive upside you would like to see in a defenseman making that kind of money. Nurse is also likely to wear down as the miles pile up on his body. Those difficult minutes require that he play with a ton of physicality. It could take its toll on the 28-year-old when he gets on the wrong side of 30.

Some of the other bad contracts on the Oilers are goaltender Jack Campbell at $5MM per season as well as third-line winger Warren Foegele and third-pairing defenceman Brett Kulak at $2.75 million each. The contracts come in addition to the nearly $2MM per year the Oilers are still paying on the James Neal buyout.

On the surface, these contracts don’t look like outrageous overpayments because all the players listed above are still functional NHLers. However, in the flat cap era Campbell, Foegele, and Kulak are all replacement-level NHLers who could have been replaced by other players on contracts of less than $1MM per season. Couple that with the mishandling of Nurse’s previous bridge deals and it all amounts to around $10MM in inefficient salary cap spending that could lead to big problems for the Oilers down the road when they need to offer extensions to McDavid, Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard.

Ken Holland To Honor Final Season Of Contract

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Sportsnet is reporting that Edmonton Oilers president of hockey ops and general manager Ken Holland told the media that the long-time NHL executive intends to honor the final season of his five-year contract. Holland added that he isn’t sure how long he will stay in the role but he has unfinished business.

Edmonton has been a disappointment in each of the four seasons that Holland has been at the helm, they’ve qualified for the post season all four years, however they’ve only advanced past the second round once.  The Oilers had another strong regular season this year going 50-23-9, however they were ousted by the Vegas Golden Knights in the second round in six games.

Holland came into the organization with a lot of fanfare after leading the Detroit Red Wings to multiple Stanley Cups in his time in the motor city. However, in Edmonton he has been unable to build around the two best players in the game in Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. Holland has never been able to solidify Edmonton’s goaltending which was once again a big part of their undoing in the playoffs. Jack Campbell was brought in from the Toronto Maple Leafs on a five year $25MM contract, but he failed to live up to expectations. Stuart Skinner was fine in the regular season but the young netminder crumbled under the postseason pressure and was yanked several times after putting up an .883 save percentage.

Edmonton has also struggled to build up depth scoring beyond their top six. McDavid, Draisaitl, Zach Hyman and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins did the heavy lifting this year, but the bottom six was a black hole. Warren Foegele but up 28 points in 67 games but beyond that there wasn’t much.

Holland will have his work cut out for him as he tries to give Edmonton another kick at the can. But given their lack of success in the postseason, fans are getting antsy as the Oilers enter the last couple years of McDavid and Draisaitl’s current contracts.

Edmonton Oilers Have Recalled Goaltender Calvin Pickard

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In a curious move the Edmonton Oilers recalled veteran goaltender Calvin Pickard from the Bakersfield Condors. The move was announced this morning by the Oilers; however, the team hasn’t commented on any reason for it. Stuart Skinner took most of the starts for Edmonton during the regular season and playoffs, however he was pulled in game four after allowing three goals on 11 shots. Jack Campbell came in to replace Skinner and performed admirably as he backstopped the Oilers to a comeback win to pull even with the Los Angeles Kings at two games each.

Pickard didn’t see any game action this season with Edmonton and has only played in 36 NHL games in the past six seasons. The former second round pick was once viewed as the goaltender of the future for the Colorado Avalanche after posting a save percentage over .920 in his first two NHL seasons. However, since those initial seasons Pickard hasn’t posted a single season with a save percentage above .900 and has bounced back and forth between the AHL and the NHL.

It will be interesting to see what, if anything, is said by the Oilers about Pickard’s recall. The Oilers did practice this morning, with Oilers radio analyst Bob Stauffer observing that Stuart Skinner was in the starters net and TSN has reported that Skinner will indeed start game five. The debate amongst Edmonton fans since game four has been about who to start in net for game five after Campbell stood on his head stopping 27 of 28 shots. Campbell was expected to be the starter for the Oilers coming into this season but lost the net as he struggled with a .888 save percentage in just 36 games. Skinner jumped on the opportunity to start and posted a .913 save percentage in 50 games.

Jack Campbell Signs With Edmonton Oilers

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As expected, the Edmonton Oilers have signed goaltender Jack Campbell to a long-term contract. The deal, according to Darren Dreger of TSN, will be for five years and a total of $25MM. Campbell’s signing in Edmonton had long been rumored, and it has now been confirmed by the league’s insiders just seconds into the new league year. Campbell has spent the past two seasons as the number-one goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he experienced a career breakout.

In Toronto, Campbell played like a true starting goalie. In parts of three seasons there, Campbell has a .916 save percentage in 75 starts. Campbell began 2021-22 on a tear, before struggling down the stretch as he battled injuries and inconsistency.

At only 30 years old, Campbell represents a long-term investment for the Oilers, who previously relied on Mike Smith, who is 40, to be their starting goalie. After an encouraging run to the Western Conference final, Oilers GM Ken Holland has a clear mandate: turn the Oilers into a Stanley Cup contender while Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are both under contract and in their primes. The team locked up Evander Kane in the early hours of this morning, and have now confirmed who will be their starting goalie for possibly the next half-decade.

This deal is somewhat of a risk for the Oilers, as Campbell doesn’t offer the extensive resume a goalie like Darcy Kuemper could provide, nor does he offer much in the way of proven playoff success. But what he does provide is starting-caliber goaltending with the potential for elite performance, at a price tag lower than what other accomplished goalies have cost in the past. If Campbell can perform anything like the player the Oilers poached from Toronto last summer, Zach Hyman, this deal will be a home run for Edmonton.

Goalie Notes: Kuemper, Murray, Campbell

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When the Colorado Avalanche acquired Alexandar Georgiev from the New York Rangers earlier this week, it became abundantly clear that the Avalanche would be moving forward without their Stanley Cup-winning starting goalie, Darcy Kuemper. Kuemper is set to hit the market on Wednesday, and with other pending free agents such as Valeri Nichushkin, Nazem Kadri, Andre Burakovsky, and Josh Manson, as well as Nathan MacKinnon’s mega-extension coming up a year from now, the Avalanche just aren’t in a position to spend significant cap dollars on a goalie. That leaves Kuemper with an intriguing opportunity, as he’s proven himself to be a championship-caliber starting goalie and is coming off of a regular season where he posted a .921 save percentage in 56 starts. There should be significant market interest from teams looking to acquire his services.

One of those teams is presumed to be the Washington Capitals. They traded one-half of last season’s goalie tandem, Vitek Vanecek, to the New Jersey Devils, and have enough cap space to make a splash on a goalie. According to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, the Capitals have been “very interested” in Kuemper for “quite some time” and should be “very motivated” to sign him once the market opens next week. The Capitals are looking to remain a Stanley Cup contender for the rest of Alex Ovechkin’s career, and acquiring a cup-winning number-one goalie is certainly one way for GM Brian MacLellan to keep his team in the mix.

Now, for some other notes regarding netminders across the league:

  • Earlier this week, we covered the trade that would have sent Ottawa Senators goalie Matt Murray to the Buffalo Sabres, before being nixed by Murray himself. Murray scuttling that trade possibility hasn’t stopped the Senators in their attempts to move him, and according to Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch, Senators GM Pierre Dorion is “trying to get creative” in order to solve his current goalie logjam that currently has the team rostering three goalies on one-way contracts. Per Garrioch, the Toronto Maple Leafs are “involved in talks” with the Senators about Murray, and the Edmonton Oilers and Arizona Coyotes are two teams “studying the option” of taking on Murray. Murray, 28, carries a $6.25MM cap hit for the next two seasons and has not performed like a quality NHL goalie since 2018-19. Murray does, however, have two Stanley Cup rings on his resume and a career .911 save percentage, making him a potentially intriguing reclamation project for a team willing to take on his contract along with some sweetener assets as well.
  • For some time now, it’s looked as though the Toronto Maple Leafs and their number-one goalie for the last two years, Jack Campbell, were headed for a divorce. Campbell struggled as the season went on in 2021-22, and many assumed that the cap-strapped Maple Leafs would prefer to go in a different direction than extend Campbell on a market-value contract. Now, with Petr Mrazek’s $3.8MM cap hit off the books, it seems a Campbell reunion may be possible after all. TSN’s Chris Johnston reports that Campbell is “the priority” for Toronto and that before GM Kyle Dubas approaches any other goalie options he’ll want to make one last push at an extension for Campbell.

Latest On New Jersey Devils Goaltending

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The New Jersey Devils were once again in the league’s basement in 2021-22, finishing fourth-to-last in the NHL standings with a 27-46-9 record. Perhaps the single biggest reason for the Devils’ struggles this past season was their goaltending. The team had a combined .881 save percentage, which was second-worst in the NHL, only ahead of the expansion Seattle Kraken. No Devils goalie managed to get into more than 25 games, and significant injury woes to the team’s two main goalies, Mackenzie Blackwood and Jonathan Bernier, meant the Devils needed to use seven different goalies just to make it through the year. That group of seven included promising 21-year-old 2020 draft pick Nico Daws, a player the Devils undoubtedly would have rather let develop peacefully at the AHL level. So, with that nightmare season behind them, the Devils’ have set forth in this offseason with the intention of stabilizing their situation in net. With significant cap space to spare, many have speculated on what direction the Devils could go in their crease.

According to the New York Post’s Larry Brooks, “multiple industry sources” indicate that the Devils “will be in on impending Toronto free agent goaltender Jack Campbell if he hits the open market on July 13.” Additionally, Brooks adds that the Devils might even attempt to acquire Campbell’s signing rights in order to get a head start on the process. Along with Campbell, Brooks also reports that the Devils “could have interest” in Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev, if Georgiev is not issued his $2.65MM qualifying offer.

Targeting Campbell would certainly make a lot of sense for New Jersey. The American netminder had a brilliant 2020-21 campaign, unseating Frederik Andersen as the Maple Leafs’ starter on the back of his 17-3-2 record and .922 save percentage. In his first full year as the Maple Leafs’ number-one goalie in 2021-22, Campbell weathered some mid-season struggles to post a 31-9-6 record and .914 save percentage. While the playoffs were not kind to him, Campbell, 30, is likely to be considered the second-best goalie on the UFA market behind Avalanche starter Darcy Kuemper, who could win the Stanley Cup tonight. The Devils landing Campbell would be a clear indication of the front office’s intention to transition from their rebuild into a more competitive phase, an intention they signaled with their signing of Dougie Hamilton last summer.

The Devils’ reported interest in Georgiev is a bit more curious. While the Georgiev from 2017-18 to 2019-20 would certainly be an improvement from the Devils’ current crop of goalies, Georgiev’s recent form does not make him a slam-dunk upgrade over someone like Blackwood. Georgiev had a .898 save percentage this past year while playing behind a very strong Rangers squad. Perhaps the Devils are confident that Georgiev can revert back to playing as well as he did a few years ago, but relying on that would be risky. Brooks did clarify that the Devils’ interest in Georgiev would be as part of a tandem rather than as a true number-one, however.

While we don’t know exactly which goaltender the Devils will ultimately choose, we do know that goaltending will be a top priority for the them this offseason. The Devils have a strong young core centered around Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and other emerging stars. Armed with the number-two overall pick at the draft, the Devils clearly want to be in the hunt for a playoff spot next season. In order to get there, they’ll need significantly improved goaltending, and targeting a top free agent like Campbell is perhaps their clearest path to stability in the crease.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Atlantic Notes: Campbell, Gaudette, Bruins

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Kurt Overhardt, the agent for Maple Leafs goaltender Jack Campbell, told Jonas Siegel of The Athletic (subscription link) that he has held talks with Toronto roughly once a week although, to this point, no numbers have been exchanged between the two sides.  He also reiterated that the 31-year-old would like to return to Toronto.  Campbell had an up-and-down year, being named to the All-Star Game but also posted a save percentage of just .893 from January on to the end of the season.  He’s going to be in line for a sizable raise on the $1.65MM AAV he had for the last two years but the shaky finish certainly won’t help his market.  While there are still a few weeks before free agency opens up, the fact neither side has tabled a firm proposal yet throws some uncertainty onto whether or not he’ll be back with the Maple Leafs next season.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Senators are currently undecided on whether or not to tender center Adam Gaudette a qualifying offer next month, relays Postmedia’s Bruce Garrioch. Ottawa claimed the 25-year-old off waivers from Chicago back in November and he chipped in with a dozen points in 50 games the rest of the way, his first real taste of consistent NHL action since the 2019-20 season.  His qualifier is only for $1MM but his production in the past (including 33 points in the 19-20 campaign) makes him a bit of a risk for salary arbitration.  It wouldn’t be surprising to see the two sides discuss a deal leading up to the tender deadline to see if there’s a fit on a one-year contract that would extend his stay but not push the price tag much higher than their required offer.
  • Spencer Carbery is among the candidates for Boston’s head coaching vacancy, reports Joe McDonald of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette (Twitter link). The 40-year-old does have a bit of previous experience with the Bruins having served as an assistant coach with AHL Providence in 2017-18 before Washington hired him to be the head coach in AHL Hershey.  Carbery got his first taste of working behind an NHL bench this season when Toronto hired him as an assistant coach last summer.

Toronto Maple Leafs Part Ways With Steve Briere

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It seems the chaotic season in the crease that was for the Toronto Maple Leafs has met a resolution. Sportsnet reports that the team is parting ways with long-time goalie coach Steve Briere, whose contract was set to expire this offseason.

The Maple Leafs brought Briere into the organization for the 2015-16 season as an unknown. Briere had spent the previous five seasons as the goalie coach for the Topeka Roadrunners in the NAHL, the second-most competitive American junior league. He’s proceeded to serve as Toronto’s goalie coach for seven consecutive seasons, but he won’t be back for an eighth.

Across the board, Maple Leafs goalies struggled this season outside of Jack Campbell, who was injured for a good portion of the regular season. Backup Petr Mrazek battled multiple injuries as well, but even when in the lineup, posted just a .888 save percentage, which was the first time he’d posted a sub-.900 save percentage in a season at the NHL level. Now, whether or not Briere’s coaching or Mrazek’s health was to blame for that performance is up for debate, but the team still felt like a change was necessary to get the most out of their netminders moving forward.

Toronto’s goaltending situation is incredibly murky next season, though, and adding a new goalie coach into the mix will heed a complete refresh in the crease. Campbell is an unrestricted free agent and it’s unclear whether the team will have the cap space necessary to retain his service, and they’ll certainly try to trade Mrazek and his $3.8MM cap hit. One of Erik Kallgren or Joseph Woll is sure to get a shot at a full-time NHL role to help keep the team’s cap hit down, and the team will need to select their next goalie coach carefully as to not put a wrench into their development.

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