Oilers Should Use 3-Goalie System in 2026-27 – The Hockey Writers – Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers were busy on the first day of free agency. They desperately needed to address their goaltending heading into this season, and mission accomplished. They let Connor Ingram walk to free agency, but they acquired Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres and signed free agent Frederik Andersen.

General manager (GM) Stan Bowman overhauled the goaltending and made the necessary changes. Now they have Andersen, Levi, and Tristan Jarry battling for the starting job come training camp. This is a good problem to have because healthy competition should hopefully elevate everyone’s performance.

The Oilers finally have salary cap flexibility. They have just under $6 million in cap space with 11 forwards, eight defencemen, and three goalies on the roster. They can keep all three goalies on the roster and still have plenty of cap wiggle room. The Oilers don’t have a true number-one workhorse goalie, so they’ll need all three to contribute if they hope to find sustained success. Therefore, they should run with a three-goalie tandem all season.

Jarry & Andersen Have Injury Histories

Jarry and Andersen have injury histories. Therefore, utilizing three goalies will provide a security blanket. Even if Edmonton has three goalies on the roster, there’s a high probability that only two will be healthy at any given time.

Andersen has battled knee injuries and concussions, while having a serious blood clot issue during the 2023-24 season. As a result, he hasn’t played more than 35 games since 2021-22, his first season with the Carolina Hurricanes. If he gets injured this season, the Oilers still have two competent goalies to handle the workload.

Jarry has also battled injuries, mixed with inconsistent play. He missed one month due to a lower-body injury sustained after the Oilers acquired him last season. He wasn’t the same upon his return, and he struggled immensely. With Jarry, his struggles are more concerning than his injuries. Therefore, it was crucial to bring in another experienced netminder to challenge him for starts.

Since the Oilers have more cap space, placing Jarry on waivers doesn’t make sense. He has a cap hit of $5.375 million, but they will only save $1.15 million by burying him in the minors. Plus, if they waive him, they are blocking their younger goalies from developing within the system. Therefore, it makes more sense to keep Jarry with the big club.

Levi Is Inexperienced

Levi is relatively unknown. He’s just 24 years old and has only 39 NHL games under his belt. His NHL numbers aren’t great, posting a 3.29 goals-against average (GAA) and an .894 save percentage (SV%). He excelled in the American Hockey League (AHL), posting a 2.52 GAA and a .914 SV% in 120 games.

He’s clearly ready to make the jump to the NHL full time, but not yet as a starter. He’s the future, but the Oilers aren’t in a position to trust him with a heavy workload from the get-go. He will gain much-needed experience learning from Andersen and will develop more confidence and comfort throughout the season. He will play important games for Edmonton this season, but he won’t have the added pressure of being labelled “the guy”. His time will come, but having him in a three-goalie system should help his development.

Keep the Goalies Fresh

With Jarry and Andersen’s injury history and Levi’s inexperience, having three goalies should keep everyone fresh and not overworked. That’s especially important as we get closer to the playoffs. The Oilers have run into injuries and fatigue throughout the playoffs in recent years, so hopefully that won’t happen between the pipes. Well-rested goalies should hopefully improve their performance. It will also take the pressure off because one goalie doesn’t have to carry the load.

The NHL season is also expanding to 84 games, which means more wear and tear on the body. So, three goalies will be beneficial if used correctly.

Andersen turns 37 years old in October, so his age is a factor. If all three goalies are healthy, Andersen shouldn’t dress for games he’s not starting. He doesn’t need to go through his whole gameday routine with morning skate or pregame warmups if he’s not playing. The fewer shots he takes in practice, the better, given his history. Let the other two suit up for those games.

In a perfect world, none of them should play more than 35 games. But that’s also based on performance. There shouldn’t be a situation where someone is sitting in the press box for a month straight. Everyone should play, and the games should be allocated evenly if they are playing well and are healthy. Ideally, a 30-30-24 games-played split will keep them engaged, healthy, and motivated. There needs to be a committee approach this season.

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