Stuart Skinner. Mike Smith. Cam Talbot. Calvin Pickard. Connor Ingram. Mikko Koskinen. Tristan Jarry.
These are the goaltenders who have started playoff games for the Edmonton Oilers in the Connor McDavid era. Not exactly a star-studded list.
The Oilers have been wandering the goaltending wilderness for far too long and are competing against the clock with McDavid under contract for two more years. This time, they've landed on 36-year-old Frederik Andersen, who ended the season doing what Edmonton is so desperate to do: lifting the Stanley Cup.
On the first day of free agency, Andersen signed a one-year, bonus-laden contract with Edmonton, where he will be reunited with ex-Toronto Maple Leafs coach Mike Babcock.
“That guy grinded his absolute nuts off to be in this position and get us here,” Carolina Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis told reporters after the team’s championship win.
Andersen was perfect through the first two rounds of the playoffs for the Hurricanes, going 8-0 and saving 14.4 goals above expected (1.61 per 60 minutes). A knee injury suffered early in the Stanley Cup Final, however, prevented Andersen from completing Carolina’s run. He finished with a 1.89 goals-against average, .910 save percentage and 12.8 goals saved above expected in 16 post-season starts.
It was a stark contrast from Andersen’s play in the regular season. He recorded career worsts in GAA (3.05) and save percentage (.874) over 35 starts, ceding the crease to eventual Stanley Cup Final hero Brandon Bussi (39 starts). Nineteen of Andersen’s appearances (54.3 per cent) qualified as quality starts, compared to 10 of his 16 playoff starts (62.5 per cent).
“The way I look at it, I’ve played worse hockey and had better numbers,” Andersen told reporters during an early-season rough patch. “I try not to look at (statistics) too much. I try to focus on what I can control.”
Andersen, who turns 37 in October, never started more than two consecutive games for the Hurricanes during the regular season, according to ESPN. The Oilers surely hope he can play more consistently than that, and he is incentivized to do so. His contract includes a $600,000 bonus for 10 games played, another $400,000 for 20 games played and $200,000 for each playoff round the Oilers win where he plays at least 50 per cent of the games, according to PuckPedia.
Over the past four seasons, Andersen has averaged 27 starts because of inconsistent play and various injuries. That means Jarry will continue to see starts after a rough half-season in Edmonton. Jarry allowed 5.43 goals above expected in 19 appearances and had a save percentage of under .900 in 12 of his 16 starts.
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman also traded for 24-year-old Devon Levi from the Buffalo Sabres. Once considered the Sabres’ goaltender of the future, Levi spent last season in the AHL, where he posted a 2.83 GAA and .904 save percentage in 52 games.
“The most important thing was to find a good, young goalie (who) I think has a lot of promise to his game,” Bowman told reporters. “With Devon Levi in Buffalo, he has played (39) NHL games, so it’s not like he’s totally new to the opportunity, but his most recent success has been in the American League, and I think he’s probably knocking on the door waiting for that opportunity.”
The combination of Andersen, Jarry and Levi is the Oilers’ latest attempt at addressing a longstanding problem. Edmonton has finished 28th and 29th, respectively, in goals saved above expected over the past two seasons. The Oilers also allowed the most goals above expected of any playoff team in 2025-26 despite playing only six games.
As easy as it is to be blinded by Andersen’s Stanley Cup win, his performance this past regular season suggests he is not the cure-all for the Oilers’ well-documented struggles in net.
All stats via Sportlogiq
EDM