Where Edmonton Oilers goalies rank in NHL after first month of season
The Edmonton Oilers seem to be finding their way after a rough start to the season, but questions still swirl around their goaltending.
Things haven’t been disastrous like in previous seasons, but the performance of both Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard hasn’t exactly been inspiring. The two goaltenders don’t seem to have improved all that much after a rocky 2024-25 NHL season that saw them share the Oilers’ net all year, including into the playoffs.
Both goaltenders have had some good moments this season, but also plenty of ugly ones. Skinner, in particular, has been prone to an ugly goal against every other game it seems, with the latest coming against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night.
Stuart Skinner misplays the puck behind the net and Utah takes full advantage šš¬ pic.twitter.com/n1DFLsAKtW
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) October 29, 2025
Pickard, on the other hand, has been servicable, but his overall numbers suggest an upgrade may be needed as the season progresses, though he has only had four starts this season. Pickard needs to improve, as the Oilers have Connor Ingram in the AHL seeking a return to the NHL.
Let’s take a closer look at how each goaltender has fared after the first month of the new season and where they rank among NHL goaltenders.
Stuart Skinner
Record: 3-3-1Ā
Going into the season, Skinner needed to prove once and for all that he was the starting goalie of the future for the Oilers. He had a rollercoaster year last season and lost the net for long stretches in the playoffs.
One month in, and the jury is still very much out on the Edmonton native. He hasn’t looked horrible, but the consistency issues that plagued him over the past few seasons seem to have carried over into this one as well.
Skinner has a .898 save percentage through seven games, which ranks 24th overall among all NHL goalies who have played at least three games so far. His goals saved above expected (GSAx) is positive at +1.2 according to MoneyPuck, but it still ranks 29th among all goalies. As far as wins go, his three is good enough to tie for 18th.
The 26-year-old is giving the Oilers mid-tier goaltending as of now, and they need a bit more than that.
Calvin Pickard
Record: 2-1-1
The journeyman Pickard has a decent enough record to begin the year, but the underlying numbers are painting a different picture.
At 33, the New Brunswick native is not expected to be the Oilers’ starting goalie over Skinner, but the inconsistency issues require him to be ready at a moment’s notice to take over the net. We saw that in the playoffs last season, and he performed rather well.
This year, it’s getting harder and harder to keep asking Pickard to do the same thing. His .846 save percentage is among the worst in the league so far, ranking 46th out of the 53 goalies who have played three or more games this year. MoneyPuck has his GSAx down near the bottom of the league as well at -3.1, which is good enough to land at 57th out of 68.
Pickard has been a warrior for this team for a few seasons now and has done a more-than-servicable job as a backup goalie. However, if these stats continue to trend the way they are, it’ll be hard to say that he is the type of goalie this team can rely on if Skinner has a repeat performance in the postseason this year.