The Crowded Crease

So tomorrow is July 1st, which means two things. One, we in Canada celebrate the country's 151st birthday, and two, ITS FREE AGENT FRENZY DAY! One of the many days hockey fans look forward too is the craziness of free agent day. Where teams pay through the roof to have some high profile free agent come and play for them. This year, the big fish target is John Tavares. But enough about that, let's talk goalies.

I mention free agency day because there are several goalies available on the market. Craig Andersson apparently wants out of Ottawa, Buffalo didn't qualify Robin Lehner while also reportedly going after Carter Hutton, and several quality backups can be found in Petr Mrazek, Jonathan Bernier, and Cam Ward. Now I know what you're thinking dear reader, "don't the Oilers already have a starter in Cam Talbot and a backup in Al Montoya?", and yes, you would be correct. And more.

See the Oilers actually have 3 goalies signed for next year. ALL of them in the final year of their deals. Talbot (who will be making $4,166,667), Montoya ($1,062,500), and newly signed KHL goalie Mikko Koskinen ($2,500,000). Now that is one crowded and expensive ($7,729,167) goal crease. So why would I mention UFA goalies, and then go and tell you about the 3 goalies Edmonton has under contract? Because I'm here to point out, what I believe to be, Chiarelli's plan for his goalies as well as mention something I would've done if I was in Peter's position. Let's start with the plan. I call it...

...

Operation: Goal Mouth

Based on my own analysis of the situation, as well as a similar situation having been played out before, here is what I believe Operation Goal Mouth is going to be. Heading to the training camp for the 2015-2016 season, the Oilers had 3 goalies that could make the roster. Cam Talbot (acquired from the New York Rangers), Anders Nilsson (signed after playing in the KHL), and Ben Scrivens (acquired from the LA Kings). That year, Talbot was slated to be the Oilers starter with Scrivens and Nilsson battling for the backup job. Nilsson won the job and backed up Cam Talbot...for about a month. For some odd reason, probably due to being a starter for the first time in his career, Talbot faltered early on in the season, and Nilsson temporarily took on the starting job for Edmonton. And he did good too. He helped the Oilers actually creep into the playoff conversation, but for whatever reason HIS play died out too, allowing Talbot to retake the job as the Oilers starting goalie. A job he has yet to relinquish.

And while some might view that as just the ups and downs of a goalie during a season, a quote from a Steve Dangle video got me thinking.

"And while Talbot has taken the starting job from Anders Nilsson, Nilsson has played his fair chunk of the games, and it's been to Talbot's benefit".

I believe it. Nilsson played 26 games in 2015-2016 with Edmonton, going 10-12-2 with a 3.14 GAA and a .901sv%. Admittedly, they're not the best stats for a goalie to have but, again, his best stretches of play was when he was in the starting job for a month and a half. When Talbot retook the crease, he had a stellar second half. In the last 17 games of that season, Talbot had a 9-6-2 record with 2 shutouts and a .930 save percentage. In fact, following the All-Star break, Talbot was #1 in the NHL with a .920 save percentage.

And that's how I see this situation playing out. I am fully on board with the idea of re-signing Cam Talbot REGARDLESS of how next season plays out. The Oilers have some good goaltending prospects in Dylan Well, Stuart Skinner, and now Oliver Rodrigue. But I also think that Koskinen will do fine and push Talbot to be better.

Now in terms of the thing I would've done...I would've waited. I don't mind the Koskinen deal, but considering there are guys who are proven to be quality NHL goalies, I can't see why Chiarelli didn't wait. If it was a question about money, I can't Chiarelli dealing out more than the $2.5M he gave to Koskinen. If it was an issue about playing for Edmonton, then I can see why. With the rumors of Lucic's family being harassed, the actual documented video of McDavid's family getting harassed, I can see why nobody would want to play here. Or maybe Chiarelli didn't wany any of them. Whatever the reason is, I'm sure Chiarelli knows what he's doing. Lord knows he's the best GM this team has had in 10 years.