Edmonton Oilers general manager Ken Holland signed goaltender Jack Campbell for a total of $25 million over five seasons in the summer of 2022 and certainly didn’t think he would send him to the American League (AHL) just over a year later would .
However, this came after a disastrous start to the season (like his team) for the former Toronto Maple Leafs. In five appearances since the start of the season, Campbell has won just once, averaging 4.50 goals against and posting a save percentage of .873.
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When the news of his relegation to the AHL broke, no one fell off their chair. But the main person concerned, for his part, admitted that he was surprised by this announcement.
“I’m pretty hard on myself, I think that’s pretty well documented in the hockey world,” he told reporters Thursday. Obviously there’s a league up there with results – everywhere actually – but I felt like I was playing well, I had some confidence. But obviously the numbers weren’t enough.”
Campbell wasted no time making a name for himself with the Bakersfield Condors, the Oilers’ farm club. In his first game in the AHL since the 2018-2019 season, the 31-year-old allowed four goals on 20 shots in a 4-1 loss to the Abbotsford Canucks.
In addition to his average performance in the stat column, Campbell allowed a pretty incredible goal in the Canucks’ second net. Despite everything, Cerberus isn’t too worried about what will happen next.
“I need to keep working on some things to get to the next level in my game and that doesn’t change whether I’m here or in the National League. I just have to get to work.”