EDMONTON — We’ve learned a few things about goaltending here in Edmonton, ironically, through years of observing a series of general managers careen ham-handedly through the market.
The first lesson is, if your plan is to wait around until an established franchise goaltender like Ilya Sorokin, Juuse Saros, Sergei Bobrovsky or Andrei Vasilevskiy shakes free, your window will pass before you get your man.
You want the next good-to-great goalie? You’ve got to identify a Miikka Kiprusoff, a Tuukka Rask, a Dan Vladar. Snap up someone else’s depth goalie and be right on them. Edmonton tried that once with Cam Talbot, a nice try but ultimately not nice enough.
The second is, the more pressure that is applied on the GM to “GET A GOALIE!” the more likely it is he’ll bring home some magic beans. See: Ken Holland and Jack Campbell, or Stan Bowman and Tristan Jarry.
Third, the defensive environment in front of the goalie is perhaps more important than the goalie himself. That’s how Adin Hill and Antti Niemi win Stanley Cups, and Stuart Skinner — who outplayed some pretty good goalies along the way — does not.
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So, as the Edmonton Oilers embrace yet another July 1 with an opening at the goaltending position — you call it Canada Day, we’ll call it Groundhog Day — let’s take a look at a market that in recent memory has not been more stocked with possibility.
And remember: the entire reason for hiring Mike Babcock was to revamp Edmonton’s look defensively. Can the Oilers rekindle the team they were in 2024 or ‘25, when they won the West more on dependable play than stellar netminding?
Does that mean that whomever they go with has a better environment, and thus, a greater chance to succeed?
Tarasov is the most interesting, as he fits the bill of the younger (27) goalie who has spent his career in the shadow of older, more established No. 1s.
Caution: He was injured during his time in Columbus (hip issues). He’s never played more than 33 games in a season. But a guy whose career has been spent behind a poor team in Columbus, and then 33 games behind the 25th-place Panthers last season, has forged a career save percentage of .897.
He’s six-foot-five, he’s entering his prime, he is by all accounts healthy and he’ll be a UFA at noon ET on Wednesday. Is Daniil Tarasov the next emerging No. 1? It’s a gamble …
Surely the Blues are ready to move on from Binnington, who has one year remaining on his contract at $6 million. Joel Hofer is seven years younger and has taken over the No. 1 job in St. Louis, after Binnington put up an .873 save percentage in 41 games last season.
But do you want an older goalie who is on the downside? The Florida Panthers traded for Jacob Markstrom, who is exactly that. Someone is going to sign Sergei Bobrovsky (we’re betting Los Angeles or San Jose), and that could free up another sliding 36-year-old in Darcy Kuemper, perhaps in a Darnell Nurse deal.
Edmonton only needs one good year out of anyone — this is a short-term project here. Binnington has one year left on his deal and could share the net with Jarry until the playoffs.
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32 Thoughts: The Podcast
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Supplanted by Jet Greaves in Columbus, the 32-year-old Latvian is another 30-plus goalie coming off a not-so-great season. He’s a metaphor for what the goalie market bears: guys making $5.4 million that their teams would rather you pay than them — not unlike Jarry.
This is a Latvian-friendly space, but we’re not sure a Merzlikins-Babcock weekly stand-off is what Edmonton needs. He’s a free spirit, this cat. Likely not the new coach’s cup of tea.
Wouldn’t it be crazy if it turned out that a guy who started the year in the American League and ended it as the Oilers’ No. 1 last season is the right answer?
Ingran would love to return to the Oilers, but as of this writing, Bowman has not committed to him. Presumably, Bowman considers Ingram a fall-back plan, as even we would have to admit, running out the same tandem that got scorched out of the first round by Anaheim is likely not the optics the Oilers GM seeks.
Babcock likes bigger netminders, which has us leaning towards Tarasov. Ideally, you trade Jarry and bring in two guys who you think have a shot at the No. 1 job.
But for now, Tarasov is the sexy, risky play, and Ingram is the safe play. Who knows what Bowman has up his sleeve.
We celebrate a little later here in Edmonton.