The Edmonton Oilers have found a goaltender, and it’s a familiar one. The club surprisingly re-signed Mike Smith to a one-year contract worth $2,000,000. Quite frankly, it’s a baffling decision by GM Ken Holland.
Smith’s base salary will be $1,500,000 with $500,000 in performance bonuses.
Smith was not good in 2019-20. In 39 games, Smith posted a record of 19-12-6 with a subpar .902 save percentage and a 2.95 GAA. He also recorded 1 shutout, and only turned in a quality start 45.9% of the time, well below the league average. Smith was shelled in one playoff appearance.
There really isn’t much to say here. This appears to be a misguided decision by Holland that, quite frankly, erases a lot of the good work that he did over the last 48 hours. Smith is barely an NHL goalie, and is not getting better at 38-years-old. There is no good reason for this signing. There is even less reason to pay him remotely close to $2,000,000.
Holland made smart bets in bringing in Tyson Barrie and Kyle Turris. It’s hard to see the logic here. Smith is an old goalie who has continuously declined.
The Oilers will now enter the 2020-21 season with one of the weaker goaltending tandems in hockey. It’s an area that, combined with their five-on-five struggles, could sink their season. The club will need a big season from Mikko Koskinen.
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