EDMONTON – Evander Kane, Jesse Puljujarvi, Tyson Barrie, Mike Smith
If you’re still not sure what the Edmonton Oilers ’top priority is this summer, then you’re: A, don’t pay enough attention; or B, did not listen to Ken Holland’s New Year’s Eve press conference on Wednesday.
“Do you have a No. 1 goalie for next season?” Holland was asked, without a doubt.
Perhaps it was the shortest answer he gave all day:
“No, I don’t think we have a number one goalkeeper. I don’t, no. ”
Holland described this thought, but after the first two sentences, the rest, with respect, is simply a salad of words.
With an appearance in the Final Four in their collective belt, the Dutch team is officially in this window where, with the right tweaks and a little luck, it can be considered a legitimate contender for the Stanley Cup.
But can you say that about a team that doesn’t have a qualified and accepted No. 1 goalkeeper? We’re not sure you can.
So goes the summer in Holland. After unsuccessfully chasing Jacob Markstrom and Darcy Kuemper last summer, it’s not as if he’s not looking for a No. 1 since the day he walked in the door here in Edmonton.
But they don’t pay him $ 5 million per season to make an effort. As we said about their players, it’s time for results.
This is an absolutely critical issue at a critical time here in Edmonton. Mikko Koskinen’s outrageous contract has finally expired, young Stuart Skinner is poised to be an NHL replacement and Smith has $ 2.2 million a year left, but could be an LTIR candidate.
Today, the Netherlands has two backups under contract, but it has no number 1.
That needs to change.
“A number one goalkeeper for me can play between 55 and 60 games. How many are in the league? Ten or 12 of these? “Holland asked.” I don’t know if any of them are available; I didn’t work the phone. I haven’t met Smitty yet, I’m not sure what he’s thinking … ”
The media met with Smith on Tuesday and asked him if, at 40, he could still be the No. 1 goalie in the National Hockey League. He thought about it for a moment.
“I don’t know,” was his reply.
Our answer: You can’t.
We’ve seen some 40-year-old backups in our day, but never a legitimate start. Smith was injured for most of the season, a facet of his age, and had another injury during the playoffs, Holland said.
Smith got tired as the playoffs progressed, and a team that has to figure out how to get its goals in the future just needs a better goalkeeper to be a part of that journey – end point.
This team will not win without a number 1 goalkeeper. We all know that, Holland included.
Where this goalkeeper comes from, however, is the big unknown.
“I want a number 1 goalkeeper, a stallion? Yes. I think 32 teams want that, “Holland began. It is a unique position, so there is only a small amount. And many of them are self-produced. They are drafted. They are developed. ”
Igor Shesterkin. Andrei Vasilevsky. Jake Oettinger. Juuse Saros. Tristan Jarry. Carter Hart. Carey Price. Thatcher Demko. Connor Hellebuyck. Elvis Merzlikins. Ilya Sorokin. John Gibson.
They all continue to play for the team that drafted them.
Then there are the pending UFAs: Marc-Andre Fleury, Kuemper, Jack Campbell, Jake Oettinger. What about Ville Husso, a UFA in St. Louis? May be.
But that’s all for free agent goalkeepers who we consider to be the legitimate or close number 1s. The rest of the outstanding free agents are goalkeepers who were once number 1 but no longer, or guys who never were.
You should trade Leon Draisaitl to get Oettinger from Dallas. It doesn’t happen.
Fleury did not want to come to Edmonton by the trade deadline. Who knows if I would change my mind?
Kuemper? Perhaps, though, his injury history does not build confidence.
Campbell? At 30, Campbell has made more than 25 starts just once in his career. This does not define a legitimate number 1 in almost anyone’s books.
“I have to go through a process and figure out what to do, where we’re going,” Holland said. “Thinking that we will end up with a number one guy who can play 60 games and is a legitimate number one guy? Are you 27, 28 years old? The odds of that are pretty slim.
“But I haven’t worked the phones. I don’t know what other executives think in terms of who’s available, who’s not available. Is there one available for a massive price? These guys don’t give it to them. They’ll want a massive price.”
Semyon Varlamov to Long Island, or Gibson to Anaheim? Both have long lists without trade.
This makes all the question marks, and unfortunately for Holland, up to par.
With more questions than answers in your fold, that’s why Holland makes a lot of money.
He needs a goalkeeper. Not now, but right now.