Pickard gone? Edmonton Oilers fan favourite posts 'thank you' message ahead of free agency
An Edmonton Oilers fan favourite may be on his way out of the Alberta capital this summer.
After being demoted to the AHL midway through this past season, it appears that Calvin Pickard has reached the end of the road in his Oilers tenure. The journeyman goaltender was always a bit of a long shot to get an extension after losing his NHL job this past season, and it appears the two sides are headed toward a split.
Pickard is set to be a UFA this summer, and he took to Instagram earlier this week to thank Oilers fans for all their support in an apparent goodbye post. It was accompanied by the song “Where Are You Going” by Dave Matthews Band.
“Thank you, Edmonton,” Pickard captioned the post alongside a montage of photos from his Oilers career.
@calvinpickard/Instagram
If this is the end of Pickard’s time in Edmonton, nobody can say it wasn’t a memorable one.
When the 34-year-old netminder initially signed with the Oilers back in 2022, he wasn’t expected to get a lot of NHL minutes. Pickard was brought in to be a third-string goalie who would spend the majority of his time in the AHL playing for the Bakersfield Condors.
That all changed in 2023-24, when the Oilers opted to waive a struggling Jack Campbell and brought up Pickard to form an NHL tandem with Stuart Skinner. Those two shared the net for parts of three seasons before GM Stan Bowman opted to shake up the position this past year.
Perhaps his most impressive stretch in an Oilers uniform came during last year’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, where he strung together an impressive 7-1 record, which included a seven-game winning streak.
It was never expected that Pickard would play such a big role for a Stanley Cup-contending team, but he beat the odds and became an essential piece of two Final runs in Edmonton. That underdog story made him a fan favourite in the Alberta capital, and it was evident that his teammates cherished his presence in the locker room as well.
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With more changes expected for the Oilers crease this summer, there doesn’t appear to be any space for Pickard to return. Tristan Jarry will likely remain with the team while Bowman searches for a new starting goalie, and the organization has young netminders like Connor Ungar and Samuel Jonsson pushing for AHL time. That isn’t even considering that Connor Ingram could be brought back as well.
Though it may not have ended how Pickard or Oilers fans would have wanted, many will still look back fondly on his time in Edmonton.