NHL insider sheds light on whether the Oilers will pursue a goalie trade after Tristan Jarry's injury
Photo credit: Edit from Daily Faceoff
NHL insider Ira Cooper has revealed that due to the NHL's looming holiday roster freeze, a trade for a goalie seems unlikely after Oilers' Tristan Jarry got hurt.
Ira Cooper of Cult of Hockey, widely regarded for his expertise on NHL transactions and roster rules, weighed in on the growing speculation surrounding the Edmonton Oilers and a potential goalie trade involving Buffalo's Alex Lyon.
His comments came shortly after Edmonton's 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins and in the wake of Tristan Jarry exiting Thursday night's game with an injury.
What is making an Oilers trade for a goalie unlikely
Cooper mentioned that the roster freeze in the NHL is upon us, which makes it harder to achieve a quick trade for Lyon or any other goalie.
"Roster freeze is in like 26.5 hours - executing a Lyon trade seems unlikely," Cooper said right after Edmonton's 3-1 win over Boston. "We don't know what Buffalo is demanding/requesting or their position at all."
- Ira Cooper
- Ira Cooper
Another factor that makes the process more complicated was pointed out by Cooper, which was the price and position of Buffalo. The thought of Lyon landing with the Oilers has been kicking around for weeks.
Writing in his column for Sportsnet's 32 Thoughts, insider Elliotte Friedman had noted the 33-year-old goalie as a potential Oiler acquisition just before the team finally acquired Jarry.
Wrote Friedman: "In addition to Tristan Jarry, I believe the Oilers poked around Alex Lyon. Not as seriously as Jarry, but it was there."
- Elliotte Friedman
- Elliotte Friedman
Approximately at the same time that Friedman nailed a potential Oiler move for a goalie who would soon become a reality in Jarry's acquisition, ex-NHL goalie and current Sabres play-by-play man Martin Biron brought the name of Lyon into the discussion on Oilers Now.
"If I was a team interested in a goaltender, I would look at Alex Lyon. He's got one start in the last 10 games and when he played a lot early in the season, he was really good. He was the brightest spot of the Sabres early season despite the win-loss record. So if I'm a team looking to add something, I would definitely look at Alex Lyon."
- Martin Biron
- Martin Biron
Why the Oilers will eventually need to get another quality goalie to play alongside Tristan Jarry
Before Jarry's injury, former Oilers goalie Devan Dubnyk discussed on The Sheet podcast with Jeff Marek the appeal of a competitive but supportive tandem between Jarry and another goalie.
Marek added that another move in goal was not out of the question, especially with new Sabres general manager Jarmo Kekalainen acknowledging that Buffalo's three-goalie setup is unsustainable.
As further context, Steve Valiquette pointed out on 'Real Kyper and Bourne' that his analysis indicates that Jarry could have prevented far more goals than what Edmonton's goalies have, relative to the quality of shots, over the last two years, so his potential loss due to injury could sting.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 19 | 145 ANSWERS NHL insider sheds light on whether the Oilers will pursue a goalie trade after Tristan Jarry's injury Will the Oilers trade for a goalie after the holiday roster freeze? | ||
| Yes | 111 | 76.6 % |
| No | 34 | 23.4 % |
| List of polls | ||