Calvin Pickard leaving Edmonton Oilers for another team in free agency
The Calvin Pickard era has officially ended for the Edmonton Oilers.
A rollercoaster four-year tenure with the Oilers organization came to an end on the first day of free agency. The journeyman goaltender inked a one-year, $1 million contract with the Minnesota Wild.
The 34-year-old Pickard appeared in 16 games with the Oilers last season, before being placed on waivers and sent to the AHL in February.
We have signed goaltender Calvin Pickard to a one-year, $1M contract for the 2026-27 season
Full details Ā» https://t.co/57pVPyLoPP pic.twitter.com/hOuXLsQKwp
— Minnesota Wild (@mnwild) July 1, 2026
It was quite a ride for Pickard in Edmonton.
He was initially brought in to be an AHL goalie for the organization, inking a dirt-cheap two-year deal in the summer of 2022 with Edmonton. Pickard was then called into action after Jack Campbell lost his NHL job with the Oilers midway through the 2023-24 season.
Pickard wound up appearing in 13 playoff games with Edmonton over the course of two Stanley Cup Final runs in 2024 and 2025. That includes an incredible 7-1-0 run in 2025 after stealing away the playoff starting job from Stuart Skinner.
His story and ability to fight through adversity and transform his career from an AHL journeyman to a bona fide NHL goaltender helped Pickard become a fan favourite in the Alberta capital.
While his service was crucial to getting the team to the final, it became clear this past season that his time with the Oilers was coming to an end. He struggled to keep up the stellar play and saw his numbers fall to a disappointing .871 save percentage and -3.5 goals-saved above-expected (GSAx).
Edmonton toyed with waiving Pickard in November, and eventually followed through with it later on in the season to go with a tandem of Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram.
Though things took a downward turn this past season, many Oilers fans will be keeping tabs on him as he takes on this next chapter with the Wild.