Oilers should give goalie prospect Olivier Rodrigue a chance
The time has come for the Edmonton Oilers to start thinking outside the box when it comes to fixing their goaltending.
After another loss where goaltender Stuart Skinner looked fine but wasn’t quite good enough, Oilers GM Ken Holland has now gotten back-to-back mediocre performances from both Edmonton goalies currently on the roster. When you factor in veteran Jack Campbell’s disastrous weekend in the AHL, you could say that the Oilers have seen all three of their current goalie options falter in just a few days.
Something needs to be done in the position if the Oilers are serious about not only qualifying for the playoffs but also contending for the Stanley Cup. An external option should probably be the preference, with targets ranging from veterans like Anaheim Ducks goalie John Gibson or MacKenzie Blackwood on the struggling San Jose Sharks.
However, this type of move doesn’t seem like it will be coming anytime soon. The Oilers are stuck with next to no cap room to add a significant player and, unless they move Campbell’s contract, it looks like the team is stuck with what they have for now.
So, what is stopping the Oilers from making one last hail mary to potentially save their season? Edmonton should send Calvin Pickard to the AHL and call up goaltending prospect Olivier Rodrigue.
OLLIE! OLLIE! pic.twitter.com/uMlq6J0sSd
— Bakersfield Condors (@Condors) December 17, 2023
The 23-year-old Quebec native was drafted by the Oilers in the second round of the 2018 NHL Draft and has been great for the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors for two seasons now. Campbell being sent down the team has siphoned off Rodrigue’s ability to start in games, being limited to just six so far this season, but what he has shown is impressive.
Despite putting up just a 14-14-1 record last season, Rodrigue had a nice .912 save percentage. That has only improved this season, with a spectacular .935 save percentage in a short sample size.
Even with Campbell carrying a $5 million cap hit and having 176 NHL games under his belt, he has been thoroughly outplayed by Rodrigue, who has yet to sniff NHL regular season action.
Though it’s almost certain that the Oilers would prefer to leave Rodrigue in the AHL to further develop, it almost makes no sense to not call him up. Campbell has been getting the majority of the starts in the AHL recently, leaving Rodrigue on the bench on most nights. If Campbell is not getting a call back from the NHL anytime soon, the Oilers may as well see what they have in Rodrigue for at least a few games.
The worst thing that could happen is that Rodrigue gives the Oilers more poor goaltending, which has already been the case with the existing NHL guys on the majority of nights anyway.
There is also an off-chance that Rodrigue leaps at his first opportunity in the big leagues and goes on a run, which has been seen multiple times with other goaltenders around the league in recent years, the most famous being Jordan Binnington leading the St. Louis Blues from last place to a Stanley Cup in 2019.
There is some risk to this type of move, but if Holland is determined to stay patient and wait for the perfect trade to come along, he may as well make sure that all his internal options are not viable solutions.
The time to sit around and hope for one of Skinner, Pickard, and Campbell to magically go on a streak has passed and the time for action is now.