Edmonton Oilers' Pickard ranks dead last in two important goalie stats
It’s looking like the Edmonton Oilers officially have a Calvin Pickard problem on their hands.
The journeyman goaltender has had a nightmare start to the new season, and things only got worse on Thursday night against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Pickard was lit up for five goals against on 25 shots, leaving him with a dismal .800 save percentage and a 5-4 loss to move his record to 2-2-1 this season.
Through his first seven starts of the year, Pickard has only posted a save percentage above .900 once, and that came over a month ago. He now ranks dead last in that stat among all NHL goalies with at least five games played, sitting at an overall of .830.
Pickard isn’t only last, he’s in that position by a good stretch. The closest goalie to that low mark is Justus Annunen of the Nashville Predators, who has a .849 SV% through five games.
If that wasn’t enough, he also ranks last in goals-against average (GAA) at 4.17, with St. Louis Blues goaltender following in second at 4.05.
The NHL just updated the goalie stats for the season
Calvin Pickard now ranks dead last in save percentage (.830) and GAA (4.17) among goalies with at least five games played
A very rough start to the season, and one that should alarm the #Oilers
— Preston Hodgkinson (@NHLHodgkinson) November 14, 2025
This doesn’t paint a pretty picture of what may be coming for Pickard. This mark falls way lower than Jack Campbell’s .873, which caused him to be put on waivers back in 2023-24.
Waiving Campbell was a big deal for the Oilers, as he was carrying a $5 million cap hit at the time. In contrast, Pickard’s AAV is way lower at $1 million, and he’s positioned as Edmonton’s backup goaltender.
Even so, it’s become blatantly obvious that the Oilers cannot keep putting Pickard out there in hopes that he will recapture last year’s magic. The veteran was an AHL journeyman when he initially came to the Oilers organization, and it looks like he’s regressing back to that this season.
Connor Ingram has not found his game in the AHL so far, but at this point, there wouldn’t be much harm in at least giving him a shot. If the Oilers don’t like that, it’s time to start really working the phones to find somebody else to put between the pipes.
Pickard has been a great soldier for the Oilers these past few seasons, and he’s gained a lot of fans inside and out of the Edmonton dressing room. But this is the NHL, and the Oilers are a contending team. The results need to be better.