Frederik Andersen explains why he chose to sign with Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers will have a Stanley Cup champion between the pipes next season.
GM Stan Bowman needed to figure out the Oilers’ goaltending situation this summer, and he wasted no time in getting that out of the way. On the first day of free agency, Edmonton went out and acquired two new goaltenders in Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen.
Trading for Levi was a good bet by management on a young goaltender, but the bigger move was convincing Andersen to sign in the Alberta capital.
The 36-year-old Danish goaltender is coming off an amazing playoff run where he helped the Carolina Hurricanes win the Stanley Cup. He’s on the older side, but he no doubt had plenty of teams interested in him going into free agency, so why did he choose the Oilers?
Andersen met with Edmonton media for the first time on Monday and outlined his reasons for signing.
“Edmonton has been knocking on the door for a while now,” Andersen told reporters. “It would be awesome to be a part of the team to get over the hump and, obviously, I think they’re very serious about it.
“I’m really excited about that opportunity.”
"Edmonton has been knocking on the door for a while now… It would be awesome to be a part of the team to get over the hump."
Goaltender Frederik Andersen on signing with the #Oilers as a free agent last week.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/pKIYXuTL3G
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) July 6, 2026
It’s expected that Andersen won’t be the clear-cut starting goaltender for Edmonton this upcoming season. Instead, it appears he will be a part of a three-goalie rotation with both Tristan Jarry and Devon Levi.
The Stanley Cup champion seemed open to that situation, acknowledging both his age and past injury issues.
“I’m definitely happy to be a part of a good goalie rotation,” Andersen said. “I think we can get a lot out of each other, especially with the schedule being different the last few years.
“However it plays out, it’s tough to predict, I’m ready to support the other guys and play when called upon.”
Andersen will also bring a unique perspective when it comes to the new Oilers head coach, Mike Babcock. He had previously played under Babcock while a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs between 2016 and 2019.
He commented on his experiences with the controversial bench boss.
“I think my experience [with Babcock] is good,” Andersen said. “As a goalie, you don’t deal with the head coach as much, and he kind of leaves you alone with the goalie coach to do your thing.
“He’s a great coach. Great x’s and o’s,Ā I thought he got a lot out of our group. We were a young team then. Just excited to see what we can do together in this new opportunity.”
Andersen knows what it’s like to be part of a contending team trying to get over that last hurdle for the Stanley Cup. The Hurricanes had been close for years before finally breaking through last season.
He told reporters what it took for Carolina to finally win, and how the Oilers could learn from it.
“The one thing I’ll take with me is realizing that the better a team can know their identity and strengths, it’s going to be better,” Andersen said. “That’s really what I think we showed in Carolina the last few years. We were working towards just being really confident and comfortable in the way we play.
“I think that really was the biggest reason that got us to the top.”
It’s been a while since Edmonton had a veteran goalie of the calibre of Andersen. He may be old, but he showed in last year’s playoffs that he still has plenty left in the tank.
We’ll see if he can help put the Oilers goaltending issues to rest, even if it’s for a single season.