The Oilers’ Biggest Issue

There has been a ton of debate about which hole is the biggest in Edmonton right now. We know there are multiple holes, the center position is weak, the offense still isn’t up to par, the defense is beyond weak, and the goaltending is horrible. That said, we just can’t figure out the biggest hole.

I think I’ve figured it out however, I’ve found the biggest hole on this Edmonton Oilers roster. Unfortunately, yet again, it’s the goaltending. It’s been an area of weakness since Dwayne Roloson left in July of 2009, and hasn’t been fixed since.

The team has tried, gambling on a number of players, but none of them have panned out. The closest thing? Devan Dubnyk for a stretch, mainly the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons.

This year, Edmonton bet on two career back-ups to this point with minimal experience, but real potential. I won’t lie, I thought it was a decent bet, but the results have been far from decent. The Oilers goaltending is arguably the worst in the NHL, and it hasn’t stolen many games for them. I can count on one hand how many times a goalie has stole a game for this team.

Currently, Ben Scrivens sits 38th in the NHL with a .894 Sv%, while Viktor Fasth sits 40th with a .889 mark, which oh by the way is out of 42 goalies. That means Edmonton doesn’t have a goalie that ranks as a starter in the NHL, and that also means roughly seven back-ups are better options than what Edmonton currently has. That’s really, really bad.

The Oilers have two goalies that are below .900 in SV%, which is almost unheard of at this level. That kind of inept goaltending is usually reserved for two kinds of teams, tanking ones, and expansion ones. I know Edmonton isn’t an expansion team, and I highly doubt they wanted to tank coming into this year, so what gives?

It was a good bet that went south. The defense is terrible, and neither of these guys had proven they could handle the load before. Once again, Edmonton took a risk and it failed. That’s on both the GM, and the players. The GM didn’t fill this hole and left this risk on the table, while the players failed to perform to the level that they did at the end of last season.

To me, this is Edmonton’s biggest hole. This level of goaltending is below replacement level, there are options in the AHL that I promise you would out-perform both Ben Scrivens and Viktor Fasth right now. That’s a huge problem, and it’s reason number one why the Edmonton Oilers are a terrible hockey team.

Goaltenders can cover up a lot of things. For example, Semyon Varlamov is good enough that he took a terrible possession team in Colorado to the playoffs last season, and he’s the biggest reason they are in the fight again this year. Jonas Hiller in Calgary, to a lesser extent, has had the same kind of impact there too.

Braden Holtby has helped turn the Washington Capitals around, covering up an inconsistent hockey team, while Craig Anderson has legit kept Ottawa in the race by himself. These goalies make their hockey teams better, and help them win more. Scrivens and Fasth, sadly, do not.

To me, Edmonton’s biggest priority is fixing this position. I’m not saying if you get a goalie, you go to the playoffs, but a good goalie can cover up a lot of other things and help give you confidence. The Oilers badly need that kind of player, and must make getting him priority number one this summer. That means opening up the bank account, and potentially moving assets to get it done.

The options on the trade market are solid. Craig Anderson could be dangled by Ottawa, while a solid reclamation project in Mike Smith could be available in Arizona. Antti Niemi is slated to become a UFA, and Edmonton has been linked to him as well. There are tons of young goalies with real potential, like Niklas Svedberg in Boston, that could be trade targets too.

I’ll have a number of pieces up this spring regarding what needs to happen this coming off season, but this is a pressing issue that I just had to write about today. The Oilers goaltending is sinking this hockey team. They aren’t very good, but they aren’t this bad, I’m very confident that Edmonton’s goalies have left a lot of points on the table this year.

If Edmonton wants to compete next season, adding a veteran goalie who has proven he can handle the role of NHL starter is an absolute must. No more taking risks, Edmonton needs a legit proven option. Look at how much it has helped Calgary and Vancouver this season, adding a real goalie can help.

If MacT ever wants to turn north, adding a real starting goalie must be number one on his shopping list. I truly hope that he is smart enough to realize this, and acts upon this during the off-season months.