Oilers' Jack Campbell a strong bounce back candidate next season

Jack Campbell has plenty to prove to both the Edmonton Oilers organization and its fanbase next season.

Just over a year ago, Ken Holland looked to fix his goaltending issues by signing Campbell to a five-year, $25 million deal. It was a deal some viewed as a risk at the time given the 31-year-old’s lack of experience, but one that most agreed was an upgrade over both Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith. As it turns out, he was far from that in his first season as an Oiler.

Campbell struggled early with the Oilers and never seemed to get comfortable. To his credit, he was able to win games as proven by his 21-9-4 record, but he was being carried far too often by his team’s elite offence. Head coach Jay Woodcroft noticed this as well, and wound up giving the majority of the starts down the stretch of the season — and all of the starts in the playoffs — to rookie goaltender Stuart Skinner.

By the time the 2022-23 season ended, Campbell owned a 3.41 goals against average (GAA) paired with a .888 save percentage (SV%) in 36 appearances. As ugly as it was, however, there is reason to believe he is capable of much more next season.

Heading into the 2022 offseason, Campbell was one of the best options available in the pipes and was expected to cash in. He was coming off a breakout 2021-22 season in which he recorded a 2.64 GAA and a .914 SV% in 49 appearances. The season prior, he had a 2.15 GAA and a .921 SV%, albeit in just 20 games played.

Despite what he’s being paid, Campbell has never appeared in 50 games in an NHL season and will likely be better off used in an evenly split tandem. Luckily for himself and the Oilers, Skinner is more than up to splitting the workload.

With the pressure of having to be the guy now gone thanks to Skinner’s emergence, Campbell can be more relaxed and get back to the level of goaltender he was over his four prior seasons. While there are no guarantees, Oilers fans should expect to see a much better version of Campbell than they did last season.

You might also like:
• Oilers' Jeff Jackson shares funny story that shows McDavid's elite work ethic