With Mike Smith on LTIR, the Oilers needed to add some goaltending depth. They’ve done just that as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports (Twitter link) that they’ve claimed Troy Grosenick off waivers from the Kings.
The 31-year-old was signed by Los Angeles early in unrestricted free agency in October to serve as their third-string option behind Jonathan Quick and Calvin Petersen. With Petersen being unavailable to start the season, Grosenick made their opening night roster but now that their intended tandem is intact, Grosenick was waived yesterday as they attempted to put him into that number three role.
The veteran has just two games of NHL experience, both with San Jose back in 2014-15 and has effectively been an AHL starter since then. Last year, he played in 33 games with AHL Milwaukee, posting a 2.29 GAA with a .920 SV% along with two shutouts which helped him earn a small raise at the AHL level in his one-year, two-way deal worth $700K in the NHL and $350K in the minors.
While Grosenick isn’t an ideal NHL backup for any extended period of time, he’s likely a better option than Stuart Skinner who is currently their backup but struggled considerably in the minors last season while Olivier Rodrigue was recalled as well but has to undergo a two-week quarantine period. Grosenick will have to do the same so Mikko Koskinen will likely see all of Edmonton’s game action for at least the next couple of weeks until Grosenick can officially join the team.
Meanwhile, Kings blueliner Mark Alt, who also was waived yesterday, was not claimed.