Unhappy with the performance of goaltender Jack Campbell and looking for an electric shock, the Edmonton Oilers decided to place the veteran’s name on waivers on Tuesday.
The 31-year-old American will be available to all teams in the National Hockey League. If a club wants to claim him, they will need to ensure they have the cap space to absorb his significant average annual salary of $5 million through the end of the 2026-2027 season.
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Campbell, who lost his position as number one goaltender at the end of the season last year, is off to a miserable start to the season, as is the Alberta team, which is ranked 31st in the standings. In five games, he maintained a 1-4-0 record, a goals-against average of 4.50 and a save percentage of .873.
It must be acknowledged that his teammate Stuart Skinner doesn’t really do better with the Oilers, but his salary is half as much. He could soon have a new deputy. Within the Bakersfield Condors farm club we find the experienced Calvin Pickard, who played 116 games in the National League, and the Quebecer Olivier Rodrigue, who has never been called up by the big club.
Help from CH?
Additionally, if Oilers general manager Ken Holland is looking for a goalie to turn things around, he could call his Montreal Canadiens counterpart Kent Hughes, who still has three goalies in his training, Samuel Montembeault, Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau.
Campbell has been a regular on the Bettman circuit since 2018-2019, when he became Jonathan Quick’s assistant with the Los Angeles Kings. First-round pick (11th overall) of the Dallas Stars in the 2010 draft, he has 176 games under his belt.
His best moments came with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Oilers signed him as a free agent and signed him to a five-year contract.