Edmonton Oilers sign Stanley Cup-winning goalie Andersen to dirt-cheap contract
The Edmonton Oilers’ goaltending situation just got very interesting.
GM Stan Bowman was busy on the first day of free agency. He managed to get Darnell Nurse’s contract off the books, inked defenceman Ryan Shea to a $20-million contract, and swung a trade with the Buffalo Sabres for young goalie Devon Levi.
He even found some room to bring back both Kasperi Kapanen and Max Jones on a pair of extensions. You’d think that would be the end of a productive day, but the Oilers had one more Canada Day trick up their sleeve.
As the day turned to evening, the team announced that they had inked reigning Stanley Cup champion goaltender Frederik Andersen to a one-year deal with a cap hit of $1 million.
There is an additional $1.8 million in performance bonuses that Andersen can acquire throughout the season as well, making his AAV hit $2.8 million.
THE GREAT DANE š©š°
The #Oilers have signed goaltender Frederik Andersen to a one-year contract with an AAV of $2.8 million. pic.twitter.com/UR5lbK2sLw
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) July 2, 2026
The 36-year-old Danish goaltender is coming off a Stanley Cup-winning performance with the Carolina Hurricanes. Andersen had a mediocre regular season with a 16-14-5 record and .874 save percentage, but that changed in a big way during the playoffs.
When the postseason arrived, so did Andersen, as he put up an incredible 13-2 record with a sparkling .910 save percentage. Those were among the very best numbers among all playoff goaltenders and were a big reason why the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup.
There are plenty of injury concerns surrounding Andersen, and his horrid regular-season numbers should cause some pause, but it doesn’t appear he will have to handle a heavy workload.
The Oilers seem to be going with a three-goalie rotation for the upcoming season, with both Jarry and Levi potentially sharing starts alongside Andersen. This should help keep the veteran goalies’ minutes down and give Edmonton more options on a game-to-game basis.
It’s a bit of an unorthodox way of doing things, but the Oilers are in a position where they have to do everything they can to maximize their chances of winning.