Campbell is quietly putting up really good numbers with Oilers' AHL team
It looks like Edmonton Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell has rediscovered his game in the AHL.
After a disastrous start to the season saw the 32-year-old get demoted to the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors in November, the expectation was that he would be back with the team sooner rather than later. Yet, a bad start to his AHL tenure pushed those plans back and, four months later, he remains in the minors.
Though he struggled at first, Campbell has been on a bit of a tear for the Condors. In 26 games, he doesn’t have a sparkling record (14-11-0) but his underlying stats have been great with a .915 save percentage. This ranks him 12th in the AHL this season which, while it should be better for an NHL goalie being paid $5 million, is a lot better than where he started the season.
Soup is a vibe right now. #Condorstown pic.twitter.com/OlSsSihF0G
— Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) March 10, 2024
Those numbers look even better recently for the goalie they call “Soup”. He has won four of his last five games and has an average save percentage of .944 over that span. These are solid numbers and are encouraging if he wants to make an NHL comeback.
Unfortunately for him, starting another game for the Oilers this season doesn’t appear to be in the cards unless Stuart Skinner or Calvin Pickard go down with an injury.
The Oilers are in the final stretch of their season and are trying to catch the Vancouver Canucks for the top spot in the Pacific Division. Goaltending has been a strong point of the team with Skinner returning to his Calder Trophy-finalist form from last season and Pickard giving the team great performances with a 9-4-0 record since coming up in relief of Campbell.
With the team having so much success with the goalies currently on the roster, calling up Campbell to replace one of them doesn’t make much sense. Sure, his AHL numbers are encouraging, but they are AHL numbers… not NHL numbers. There is no guarantee that his recent play will translate to the NHL and, right now, the Oilers are in a position where they don’t have to risk it.
Oilers fans are sure to be happy that the veteran is in a much better place regarding his play than he was at the start of the season, but they shouldn’t be expecting him back up in any time soon.
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