Oilers Going Goalie Shopping

Quick blog this morning, but an important one nonetheless. After months of silence, we are finally starting to hear rumblings of what Peter Chiarelli might do when it comes to player movement. The debate has roared on, what is Edmonton’s biggest weakness. Some say it’s the defense, while others say it is the goaltending.

We know both are weak areas, and we also know that Chiarelli understands this and will try to address both holes. We now have a pulse on his line of thinking. Goaltending is the number one issue in the minds of these guys, and they are already hard at work looking for solutions.

TSN insider Pierre LeBrun, one of the best in the business, leaked some interesting information on Thursday. Chris Nichols transcribed it and posted it to twitter.

@NicholsOnHockey: LeBrun: #Oilers believed to have shown interest in Robin Lehner, Cam Talbot and John Gibson. #Sens #NYR #NHLDucks

Also From Chris’ twitter: LeBrun: Sources say #Sens have firm trade offers on Lehner. #Oilers, #SJSharks are believed to be among teams that have expressed interest.

First off, it’s no surprise that Ottawa and Edmonton have talked. The Senators are looking for a forward, while Edmonton badly needs a goalie. Both teams would be dealing from a position of strength, and the smoke has been there for years.

While Ottawa might be asking for a top-six forward, I doubt they get one. The going price for goalies is usually much smaller than we expect. Only the elite guys get top-six forwards or top-four defenders in return. Robin Lehner is good, but he is injury-riddled and certainly not elite.

Interesting to note that it is Lehner, not Craig Anderson, that Edmonton is looking at here.

Also no surprise Edmonton is in on Talbot. I profiled the Ranger back in May for off-season targets, and he’s continued to grow on me since I wrote about him. Sure, he’s unproven as a starter, but his track record has been pretty good at all levels prior. Plus, he’s done a good job as a back-up in the NHL. He’s my favorite option right now.

One of my favorite bloggers, Woodguy, has been pumping up Talbot a lot this spring. You can blame him for me falling in love with this player. One of his better posts on him is here. It’s worth reading, because it shows you what Talbot may well be.

John Gibson is the most interesting, because he has the highest ceiling. This was a guy proclaimed to be “the next great American goalie” and he’s been knocking on the door for two years now in Anaheim. It appears the Ducks are set on Frederick Andersen, so a Gibson deal makes sense. Only thing is it will cost you a fair amount, and he is unproven.

This is an interesting tacit for Edmonton. The good thing is they aren’t going after older goalies who could hurt them. The Khabibulin contract killed this team for years, and Chiarelli knows that veteran goalies rarely turn out. Adding Niemi would help for 2015-16, but beyond that there is great risk.

Going younger could result in finding the long-term solution, but it comes with great risk. What happens if John Gibson is the guy and he implodes next October? Then what for the Oilers? It’s a nightmare all over again, and the fans likely storm the gates of Rexall.

Here’s what we do know. Edmonton is aggressively pursuing solutions in net, and they are looking at younger options. I like Cam Talbot the most, but Lehner makes some sense and obviously Gibson would be the sexy get at this point thanks to his hype.

Getting a goalie for the future would be huge for Chiarelli and the Oilers. It might be someone other than these three, but I think we have now surrounded the kind of player they envision for the starting job. Things are going to be very interesting this month.

Off-season targets will return tonight.