For the third straight 12 months, the Edmonton Oilers are off to one more wonky begin to a season. This time round, their document, 7-6-4, is respectable, however their efficiency on the ice has left a lot to be desired.
Whereas the protection corps has struggled in entrance of them, the goaltending —as soon as once more —is a significant subject of dialogue in Edmonton, because the tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard isn’t chopping it, which shouldn’t shock anybody.
That has led to hypothesis about who the Oilers might goal to improve in purpose, and one title that’s picked up steam in current weeks is Predators star netminder Juuse Saros.
Whereas that concept sounds nice, insider Frank Seravalli is not too keen on the prospect of Edmonton targeting Saros.
He explains:
“Saros wouldn’t be the selection for me for a lot of causes. One, he’s within the first 12 months of an eight-year contract that can take him all the way in which till age 39. Two, his numbers haven’t been good for 2 consecutive seasons now, this one and final. And three, from an general holistic perspective, for a workforce that doesn’t actually have the cap area and hasn’t devoted the cap area to goaltending, in a number of methods, what you have got is what you get with Stuart Skinner and what they’ll afford to pay on their cap.”
As Seravalli referred to, the 30-year-old Saros simply started the primary season of the eight-year, $61.92 million extension he signed with Nashville in 2024.
Loads of Hurdles in Oilers’ Try and Purchase Juuse Saros
Everybody can agree that the Oilers have to discover a resolution to their goaltending woes for the now and the long run.
On the floor, buying Saros looks as if a no brainer to unravel that difficulty, however the deeper you dive, it actually could be a difficult deal for Stan Bowman to tug off. Insider David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period emphasized that during a recent appearance on Sportsnet Today.
“They don’t have cap area now for a fast repair; even when they do make a goalie change and Skinner’s the man out, it’s $2.6 million. If you would like an influence goalie, you’re most likely taking a look at $5 million+; they only don’t have the area for it,” Pagnotta mentioned.
All of this seems to close down the potential for the Oilers touchdown Saros, but when the play on the place stays establishment, Edmonton must get artistic and doubtlessly uncomfortable so as to make one thing occur.
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