The Edmonton Oilers had an earlier end-of-season media availability than they are used to on Saturday, and general manager Stan Bowman wasn’t hiding his disappointment.
“We’re obviously not in a good spot here talking to you guys in early May,” Bowman said. “We’d rather be playing into June.”
For the first time since 2021, the Oilers did not advance past Round 1 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs after losing to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the first round on Thursday.
The Oilers gave up 26 goals over the six-game series, and once again, goaltending was a huge topic in Edmonton.
Connor Ingram started five of six games and finished with a 3.86 goals-against average and .876 save percentage. Tristan Jarry got the call in a Game 5 loss and allowed four goals on 38 shots.
Jarry, who was acquired by the Oilers in a mid-season trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Stuart Skinner, is the only goaltender Edmonton has under contract for next season.
Asked to evaluate his team’s situation in the crease heading into 2026-27, Bowman didn’t exactly give a glowing assessment.
“We have to evaluate that,” Bowman said. “Where it’s going to end up, I really don’t have that information yet. But we are looking for improvement in that area for sure.”
After being acquired by the Oilers, Jarry got off to a hot start with his new team but then suffered an injury.
Once he returned, he was never able to recapture his form, and Bowman pointed to the injury a big reason.
“Tristan, it didn’t work out very well for him,” Bowman said. “I think he started really well with us, then he got that injury.
“Never really seemed to recapture his confidence or his performance for the time he came back. So that’s something we have to evaluate, what happened there… When he came back, he didn’t have his game, and at that point in the season, it was tough to let him work through it.”
Over 19 games with the Oilers in the regular season, the 31-year-old Jarry finished with a 3.86 goals-against average and an .858 save percentage.