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Oilers Notes: Goaltending, Bourgault, Coaching

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Edmonton’s goaltending situation certainly hasn’t been good this season with Stuart Skinner and now-demoted Jack Campbell combining for a 4.10 GAA and a .862 SV%, a big reason why the Oilers are now tied with San Jose for last in the NHL.  Accordingly, there has been an expectation that a move will be made to shore up their netminders.  In a recent 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman relayed that there were some in the league who thought Edmonton was nearing a deal to do just that on Wednesday.  Clearly, that hasn’t come to fruition (yet, at least) but it would appear as if GM Ken Holland is trying to get something done on that front.  But with the team in a money-in, money-out situation to stay cap-compliant, it’ll be easier said than done.

More from Edmonton:

  • Speaking today on TSN 690 (audio link), TSN’s Darren Dreger indicated that prospect Xavier Bourgault is “a piece the Canadiens have coveted for a while”. The 21-year-old was the 22nd pick back in 2021 and is in his second season with AHL Bakersfield.  A strong scorer in junior, Bourgault had a decent rookie campaign with 34 points in 62 games last season while he has four in seven contests so far this year.  Montreal is one of the teams still carrying three goalies although Jake Allen might not work in their salary structure, extension talks have started with Samuel Montembeault, and Cayden Primeau isn’t the proven solution between the pipes that Edmonton should be looking for.
  • TSN’s Ryan Rishaug relayed earlier today (Twitter link) that nothing was imminent with regards to possible coaching change. Jay Woodcroft is only in his second full season with the team and even with the ugly start this season, his teams have played to a .640 point percentage.  Postmedia’s Robert Tychkowski notes that a change, if one is made, would give them their fifth bench boss in eight years with a good chunk of the core there for all of those moves.  As a result, while making a move behind the bench might be the easiest lever to pull, recent history would suggest that it might not change a whole lot.

Hamblin's Recall No Longer Cap-Exempt

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  • PuckPedia notes (Twitter link) that the Oilers have converted forward James Hamblin’s emergency exception recall into a regular one. When they sent Jack Campbell and down and recalled Calvin Pickard earlier today, Edmonton had enough cap space to fit Hamblin into its cap structure, meaning they were no longer eligible for the cap exemption he was recalled with.  The 24-year-old logged nearly 11 minutes in his season debut back on Monday.

Edmonton Oilers Place Jack Campbell On Waivers, Recall Calvin Pickard

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Nov. 8: As expected, Campbell has cleared waivers, and Pickard has been recalled from AHL Bakersfield, per the team’s Twitter/X account.

Nov. 7: In a surprising announcement, the Edmonton Oilers have placed goaltender Jack Campbell on waivers today, for the purpose of assignment. With plenty of changes seemingly coming to the Oilers after a horrific start to the year, Edmonton has decided to expose Campbell and the $20MM remaining on his contract to the rest of the league.

Back during the 2021-22 regular season, the Oilers ran with a duo of Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith throughout the year, a duo who led the team to the Western Conference Finals before ultimately being swept at the hands of the Colorado Avalanche. In an attempt to dramatically improve their goaltending, Edmonton inked Campbell to a five-year, $25MM contract, prying him away from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

However, the investment has not gone accordingly for either side of the deal. In his first year as an Oiler, Campbell maintained a solid 21-9-4 record in 34 starts but also carried a .888 SV% and a 3.41 GAA. Ultimately, Campbell was replaced in the crease by rookie netminder, Stuart Skinner, who held a .913 SV% and a 2.75 GAA in 48 starts, comparatively. Nevertheless, Campbell was able to get in four starts during the 2022-23 NHL playoffs, posting dramatically improved numbers with a .961 SV% and a 1.01 GAA.

If there was any hope of Campbell carrying his playoff performance in this year’s regular season, that hope has quickly evaporated. In five starts on the year up to this point, Campbell has a 1-4-0 record, coupled with a .873 SV% and a 4.50 GAA. Although not the entire reason, the lack of adequate goaltending is a substantial factor in the Oilers’ ugly 2-8-1 record to start the 2023-24 season.

In the meantime, as it would be more than reasonable to assume Campbell will go unclaimed on waivers over the next 24 hours, PuckPedia reports that Edmonton will save approximately $1.15MM once Campbell clears and is sent down. Furthermore, Frank Seravalli of the DailyFaceoff indicates that the Oilers plan on replacing Campbell with Calvin Pickard, who is currently serving as the primary starter of the team’s AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. If the team does call up Pickard, PuckPedia reports that Edmonton will only be saving approximately $388K with the move.

Although Pickard should not be seen as a long-term answer in the net, he ultimately may serve as an upgrade to both Edmonton goaltenders. Similarly to Campbell, Skinner has gotten off to an incredibly slow start with a 1-4-1 record, .856 SV%, and a 3.99 GAA. Pickard, on the other hand, holds a 2-2-0 record for the Condors so far this season, with a .939 SV% and a 2.03 GAA.

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report that the Oilers were placing Campbell on waivers. 

Edmonton Could Move First Round Pick To Add Roster Pieces

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The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun recently shared that the Edmonton Oilers could be interested in moving their 2024 First Round pick if it means getting their season back on track. TSN’s Darren Dreger added that Edmonton could be looking for a blockbuster deal that would allow them to address multiple needs at once – a deal that would almost certainly require a high-value pick.

This news isn’t surprising. Edmonton currently holds a 2-8-1 record, recording the fifth-fewest goals scored and the third-most goals allowed through the early season. They’re getting little scoring from their depth, with three different forwards appearing in all of the team’s 11 games and failing to score more than one point. And, most notably, they’ve received some of the worst goaltending in the league, with both Stuart Skinner and Jack Campbell carrying save percentages below .875. This led the Oilers to waive Campbell on Tuesday, assigning him to the AHL and recalling minor-league veteran Calvin Pickard. It’s been a disaster to start the season, but dangling a First Round pick in a draft as lucrative as 2024 could be enough to turn the tide.

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Oilers Recall James Hamblin On Emergency Basis

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When Connor Brown wasn’t able to play on Saturday, the Oilers were forced to play short a player.  In doing so, they created a short-term cap-exempt emergency recall.  The team announced that the recall has been used on James Hamblin who has been promoted from AHL Bakersfield.

The 24-year-old made his NHL debut last season with Edmonton, getting into ten games with the big club.  He was held without a point but recorded a dozen shots on goal while averaging just under nine minutes per game.  He spent most of last season in the minors where he had 10 goals and 18 assists in 52 games with the Condors.  This season, Hamblin is off to a good start with two goals and three helpers in six contests, helping him earn this promotion.

Hamblin is in the final season of a two-year, entry-level contract which carries a cap hit of $807.5K.  The AAV being that low permitted him to be the recall; teams are limited to bringing up a player making no more than $100K above the league minimum salary ($775K this year) when using a cap-exempt promotion.  Once Brown or Mattias Janmark return from their respective injuries, Hamblin will need to be returned to Bakersfield.

Connor Brown Is Day-To-Day, Oilers Play Short A Player Against Nashville

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Oilers winger Connor Brown took the pregame today but play-by-play voice Jack Michaels relayed (Twitter link) that he wound up being a late scratch.  He’s officially listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.  Edmonton doesn’t have enough cap space to carry an extra forward so they played today’s game against Nashville short a player.  Accordingly, it makes them eligible for an emergency cap-exempt recall of a forward making $875K or less should Brown still be unable to play on Monday against Vancouver.

It’s worth mentioning that when Brown does suit up for his next game, he will receive a $3.25MM bonus as part of the contract he signed with Edmonton this summer, one that guaranteed him just the NHL minimum.  Any amount of that bonus that the Oilers can’t absorb on their books this season would be treated as a carryover penalty and would count against their 2024-25 cap charges.

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Edmonton Oilers Recall Raphael Lavoie

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The Edmonton Oilers have announced they have recalled forward Raphael Lavoie from their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors. Although not confirmed, it is likely due to the apparent injury to forward Connor Brown in last night’s game against the Dallas Stars, causing him to leave the rest of the game in the second period.

In what will only be the second callup of his young career, Lavoie has been one of the better-performing members of the Condors over the last several seasons. A second-round pick by the Oilers in the 2019 NHL Draft, Lavoie has amassed a total of 141 games for Bakersfield, scoring 47 goals and 41 assists.

Given that the team only has 12 forwards on their active roster, if Brown is unable to play tomorrow against the Nashville Predators, Lavoie will be guaranteed to make his NHL debut. In all honesty, it may not be the worst idea in the world for the Oilers to add a different player to their bottom six, as the current group at the bottom of the forward core has yet to deliver in any meaningful way to start the season.

With a large frame and a more-than-ready NHL shot, Lavoie could have some staying power with Edmonton for much of the season. However, his foot speed leaves a lot to be desired, and he has appeared to take a handful of games off with Bakersfield over the last several years.

Oilers Loan Philip Broberg To Minors

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The Edmonton Oilers have assigned defenseman Philip Broberg to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors, per a team announcement issued Friday.

Broberg has played limited minutes this season, skating in eight games and averaging just 11:12 per game. He’s been held off the scoresheet entirely and has a -1 rating.

However, this isn’t necessarily a performance-based demotion. The Oilers are now without Connor Brown for tomorrow’s game against Nashville as he deals with an undisclosed injury, meaning they’ll need to recall a forward for Saturday’s contest. That won’t solve all their issues, however. The Oilers do not have cap space for two recalls after assigning Broberg to the minors, only one – meaning they’ll still likely roll with 11 forwards and six defenders against the Predators and play a skater short. Assigning Broberg to the minors allows them to carry a more traditional lineup than dressing only ten forwards and seven defensemen.

It’s another bump in the road for the Oilers, who have struggled mightily this season and sit sixth in the Pacific Division with a 2-6-1 record and just five points. They’re receiving poor goaltending from Jack Campbell and Stuart Skinner and receiving little to no depth scoring, with a handful of players in their bottom six still without a point on the season. They did receive a boost last night from Sam Gagner, however, who notched two goals in his first game in his third stint as an Oiler last night against Dallas. Gagner is projected to slide into the top six against Nashville on a line with Evander Kane and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

Broberg, in the meantime, will get some reps in the minors with Bakersfield and play heavier minutes. This assignment will likely last until one or both of the Oilers’ injured forwards, Brown and Mattias Janmark, are ready to return to game action.

Evening Notes: Oilers, Faksa, Fabbri

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Sam Gagner’s contract with the Edmonton Oilers has officially been registered today and the 34-year-old was called up by the team to their NHL roster (CapFriendly). The move coincided with winger Adam Erne clearing waivers and being assigned to the club’s AHL affiliate the Bakersfield Condors. Gagner will begin his third stint with the Oilers after missing the end of last season and training camp with a hip injury.

The former sixth overall pick played three AHL games last week picking up a goal and four assists while driving a lot of the offense for the Condors. The Oilers will be looking for him to provide depth scoring for a lineup that has appeared top-heavy this season. Gagner has been a solid offensive contributor throughout his career despite bouncing around the league to seven different teams during his 16-year NHL career.

For Erne, he returns to the AHL after going scoreless in six games for the Oilers this season. The 28-year-old split last season between the NHL and AHL in the Detroit Red Wings organization. He posted five points in nine AHL games last season while registering eight goals and 10 assists in 61 NHL games.

In other evening notes:

  • Dallas Stars radio analyst Bruce LeVine is reporting that Stars forward Radek Faksa will miss tonight’s game with what is being described as an upper-body injury. Faksa skated with the team yesterday before leaving on their road trip and by all accounts seemed fine. No word yet on what has changed between then and now or any specifics on the ailment. Faksa is off to a slow start offensively this season with no points in seven games, however the Stars are off to a torrid 5-1-1 start thanks in part to Faksa’s penalty killing and defensive acumen.
  • Detroit Hockey Now writer Kevin Allen is reporting that Robby Fabbri of the Detroit Red Wings returned to practice today and could be coming off the injured reserve sooner rather than later. Fabbri is ahead of schedule according to Allen but will still miss the Red Wings next two games. The 27-year-old has dressed in just a single game this season and has one goal thus far. He has been sidelined with a lower-body issue but could return next week against the New York Rangers or Montreal Canadiens.

Oilers Sign Sam Gagner To Two-Way Deal, Mattias Janmark Day-To-Day

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4:02 p.m.: Edmonton has made the contract official, issuing an announcement via Twitter/X Tuesday afternoon.

2:40 p.m.: The Oilers have signed veteran forward Sam Gagner to a one-year deal, per PuckPedia. The deal carries a $775K cap hit and will pay him $250K in the minors.

This essentially amounts to a call-up in place of depth winger Adam Erne, who the Oilers placed on waivers earlier today. Gagner attended Edmonton’s training camp on a PTO but was not initially signed to an NHL contract, instead signing an AHL contract with the Oilers’ affiliate in Bakersfield while he completed his recovery from hip surgery undergone in March. As such, this contract will not be registered with the league until tomorrow. The Oilers have $429,766 in current cap space, per CapFriendly, and will need to assign Erne to the minors to clear the space for Gagner’s contract.

The 34-year-old, once a sixth-overall pick by the Oilers in 2007, looked no worse for wear in three contests with AHL Bakersfield over the last week. The Condors won by at least three goals in every game in which Gagner played, and he tallied two multi-point efforts en route to a goal, four assists and a +4 rating.

Gagner is likely to make his 2023-24 Oilers debut on Thursday against Dallas, playing on an undermanned fourth line with Derek Ryan as the team ices 11 forwards and seven defensemen while Mattias Janmark is on the shelf with a shoulder injury. Oilers head coach Jay Woodcroft told media today that Janmark’s timeline is day-to-day after he missed last Sunday’s Heritage Classic (via Daniel Nugent-Bowman of The Athletic).

That will kick off Gagner’s third stint with the Oilers in his 16-season, 1,015-game NHL career. His first lasted seven seasons and 481 games from draft day in 2007 until the 2014 offseason, when the Oilers traded Gagner to the Lightning for winger Teddy Purcell. He would never play a game for the Lightning, however, as they flipped him to the Coyotes (along with enforcer B.J. Crombeen) in exchange for a sixth-round pick the same day.

Gagner would then bounce around the NHL, playing for four teams (the Coyotes, Flyers, Blue Jackets, and Canucks) in the next four seasons. His point output varied to just 16 in 53 games with the Flyers in 2015-16, earning him a brief demotion to the AHL, to a career-high 50 in 81 games the following season with Columbus.

In 2018-19, his second season with the Canucks, Gagner was again demoted to the AHL to begin the season, spending most of the campaign outside the organization on loan to the AHL’s Toronto Marlies. That changed on February 16, 2019, when the Canucks traded him back to the Oilers in exchange for forward Ryan Spooner. Gagner’s second stint with Edmonton helped re-establish his NHL career, as he remained on the NHL roster for the remainder of the season and registered ten points in 25 games.

His time in Alberta would be short-lived this time around, however. Just a few days after the one-year anniversary of his re-acquisition, the Oilers shipped out Gagner at the trade deadline to the Red Wings in a deal for forward Andreas Athanasiou. Gagner would spend the following two seasons after the COVID pause in the Motor City, providing solid depth production and a needed veteran presence on a struggling team. He signed as a free agent with the Jets for the 2022-23 campaign, where he scored eight goals and added six assists for 14 points in 48 games before hip surgery shut down his season.

Now fully recovered, he’ll look to once again bring a solid bottom-six game to Edmonton. He may not have the offensive ceiling of the player who once notched eight points in a game for Edmonton in the early 2010s, but he has a well-rounded offensive skill set that helps drive play further down on the depth chart. He’s posted positive relative possession numbers over the past three seasons with the Red Wings and Jets and should be an upgrade over Erne, who was without a point in six games and had posted a staggering relative Corsi share of -10.7% at even strength.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

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