Edmonton Oilers have a logjam of goalies after latest signing
The Edmonton Oilers have no shortage of goalies heading into the season.
Edmonton is already set to run a three-headed monster between the pipes, with all of Frederik Andersen, Tristan Jarry, and Devon Levi expected to stick on the NHL roster, and the prospect pipeline is jam-packed with netminders.
On Wednesday, the Oilers announced that they had inked Finnish goaltender Eemil Vinni to a one-year, two-way AHL contract for next season. The 20-year-old is a former second-round pick of Edmonton back in 2024 and spent last season in Finland’s second-tier league.
Signing him means that Vinni will make his way to North America next season, but there isn’t exactly a clear-cut spot for him within the organization. He will join a crowded crease, as the Oilers now have a total of eight goaltenders under contract.
The @Condors have signed goaltender Eemil Vinni to a one-year, two-way American Hockey League contract for the 2026-27 season. https://t.co/7UHGvkIIIK
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) August 12, 2026
Vinni will not be in the NHL, so there is no concern there, but it’s unclear how he will fit in the minors. Matt Tomkins and Connor Ungar are the obvious picks to backstop the Bakersfield Condors this season, while both Samuel Jonsson and Nathanial Day are expected to push for playing time in the ECHL with the Fort Wayne Comets.
So, where does that leave Vinni to play next season? A two-way AHL contract means that he will be limited to either playing in the AHL or the ECHL.Ā Considering his lack of pro-level experience and the fact that he didn’t exactly dominate in Finland’s minor leagues, the ECHL feels like a natural starting point for the six-foot-three goaltender.
Having him be a third-string goalie in the minors, however, doesn’t seem very productive for either the Oilers or Vinni, so a solution will need to be figured out. There are two distinct paths that Edmonton could take to ensure Vinni gets the playing time he needs.
The more intriguing move is that the Oilers could move out on those goaltenders to open up a clear-cut spot. Tomkins would be the easiest goalie for the organization to move on from, as he’s a 32-year-old entering the final year of his contract and is unlikely to be needed at the NHL level.
That would hand the AHL reins to Ungar, while opening up an opportunity for Jonsson to make the jump to Bakersfield, leaving Vinni to share the net with Day in the ECHL.
Another option the Oilers could explore is possibly loaning Vinni or one of Jonsson or Day to another ECHL team to ensure all players get the right amount of playing time. The organization did this with Ungar last season, who split his ECHL time between Fort Wayne, the Orlando Solar Bears, and the Greensboro Gargoyles.
Whatever the Oilers decide, something will need to be done to ensure every goalie is getting the playing time they need to properly develop.