Edmonton Oilers Linked To Veteran Goaltender Still Available On The Free Agent Market
The Edmonton Oilers search for goaltending help continues and today the team has been linked to a former-first round pick still on the free agent market.
The Edmonton Oilers goaltending duo of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard remains a topic of conversation and debate heading into the 2025-26 season.
Many fans and analysts expected the Oilers to add either a different goaltender to the squad in place of Calvin Pickard or to at least add some competition to push the duo.
To this point, that has not happened but a new source has linked the Oilers to former first-round goaltender and veteran Ilya Samsonov.
Edmonton Oilers Linked To Ilya Samsonov As Potential Free Agent Addition
In a new article from NHL Trade Rumors, reports are indicating that Samsonov has narrowed the teams he is considering down to three.
The three finalists are the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Carolina Hurricanes.
Looking ahead to the 2025-26 season, keep an eye on the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Carolina Hurricanes, who all could use a veteran third stringer to push their tandems. There's been production, and injury concerns in all three markets over the past year, so ideally, each team adds another experienced netminder for training camp.
Of these opportunities the Oilers is likely the best opportunity for Samsonov to stick on a roster and play.
If he can beat out Pickard he has a path to real playing time.
In the case of Calgary, Dustin Wolf is the clear starter while Samsonov would compete with Ivan Prosvetov for the backup role.
Then in Carolina, Pyotr Kochetkov and Frederik Andersen are solidified as the team's goaltending duo and likely is not a great opportunity.
At 28-years-old Samsonov still has plenty of good hockey left in front of him and is coming off of a strong season with the Vegas Golden Knights in which he posted a 2.82 goals against average.
As training camp rapidly approaches it will be interesting to see which team approaches Samsonov to give him another NHL opportunity.
Previously on HockeyLatest
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 7 | 91 ANSWERS Edmonton Oilers Linked To Veteran Goaltender Still Available On The Free Agent Market Would you like to see your favorite team sign Ilya Samsonov? | ||
| Yes | 52 | 57.1 % |
| No | 39 | 42.9 % |
| List of polls | ||