The Edmonton Oilers may be getting linked to Jordan Binnington, but they don’t sound like a team in a hurry to chase another goaltender.
That was the message from Elliotte Friedman on Monday’s 32 Thoughts podcast, where he pushed back on the idea that Edmonton is ready to make a move. Friedman said Binnington can rise to the moment in big international settings, pointing to the 4 Nations Face-Off and the Olympics, but he also made it clear the Oilers don’t have an urgent need in net right now.
The reason is simple: Edmonton likes where things stand. Tristan Jarry is playing well, Devon Levi has shown he can handle the job as an NHL starter, and Frederik Andersen is still working his way back from injury.
With that kind of setup, there’s no immediate pressure to go shopping for another goalie. Binnington could still come into play later in the season if the situation changes, but for now he’s not on the Oilers’ radar.
The same goes for Juusa Saros, another name Erik Johnson floated as a possible fit.
Meanwhile, in New Jersey, the Devils are catching heat for a very different decision.
The team chose to sit Connor Hellebuyck for Tuesday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets, and that move has sparked plenty of debate. General manager Sunny Mehta said in a statement that he was leaning on the numbers and believed playing Hellebuyck would reduce the team’s chances of winning. That explanation hasn’t satisfied everyone, especially with Hellebuyck saying he wanted to play against his former team.
The optics have only gotten messier because some are questioning why Jake Allen would get the start, given his struggles against Winnipeg. Others think the Devils and Hellebuyck are trying to avoid a scene with Jets fans who would have plenty to say.
There’s also a growing belief that this may have been driven by Hellebuyck himself, even though he’s publicly said he wants to play and that the situation is “out of his hands.” It’s turned into a much bigger talking point than anyone probably expected, and Hellebuyck is still scheduled to speak to the media Tuesday and explain his decision to request a trade.
In Calgary, the Flames are dealing with a more straightforward problem: they’ve lost Kevin Bahl for the rest of the season.
Bahl will have surgery for a ruptured Achilles tendon, a brutal blow for a defender who had been logging nearly 22 minutes a night. That leaves Craig Conroy with a real hole on the blue line, and TSN’s Darren Dreger said the Flames could look beyond the organization to patch it.
Dreger wrote: “Brutal injury that will hurt the Flames. If there’s a young Dman available, I expect Conroy might consider that, or a defenceman on a short-term contract, but they’re not interested in simply adding via trade to fill the void.”
That fits where Calgary is in its rebuild. A younger defenceman who could stick around would make more sense than bringing in a rental just to cover the gap. The Flames may have an internal answer, but if the depth chart starts to crack, Conroy could still be pushed into the trade market.
In Other News...
Flames Young Core Delivered In A Wild Home Win
The Saddledome got the kind of night that reminds everyone why the Flames keep leaning into their young core. Calgary outlasted Philadelphia 4-3 in overtime in a game that swung back and forth, with Zayne Parekh flashing the dynamic skill that has made him such an intriguing piece of the future and Devin Cooley coming up with timely saves when the Flyers kept pressing.
The finish only added to the sense that this group can tilt a game in its favor when the pace turns chaotic. Calgary found a way through a tense third period and then again in overtime, leaving the building with two points and another example of how its younger players are starting to shape the identity of the team. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Blue Line Shuffle Raises Concern Ahead Of Flyers Game
The Flames are making another adjustment on the back end, recalling Brayden Pachal from the AHLs Calgary Wranglers as they prepare for a game against the Philadelphia Flyers. The move comes with Calgary looking to shore up its defensive depth after Kevin Bahl missed a recent game because of a lower-body injury, a reminder of how quickly the blue line can get stretched over the course of a season.
Pachals return gives the Flames a familiar option after he was waived earlier in the season and then logged regular minutes in the minors. For a team trying to stay organized on defense, the timing matters, and Bahls status now becomes the part to watch as Calgary heads into a matchup where every available body on the back end carries extra weight. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Must Solve A Massive Blue-Line Loss For The Rest Of The Season
The Flames are suddenly facing a much different blue line after their top defenseman was lost for the season, forcing the club to reshuffle its defensive pairings and lean on depth it had hoped to preserve for later. Calgary has already turned to Joel Hanley for a larger role, while Brayden Pachal has been recalled to help stabilize the lineup as the team tries to absorb the blow.
It is the kind of loss that changes the look of a defense overnight, especially for a team that has relied on structure and collective responsibility to stay competitive. The Flames have stressed that the answer will have to come from everyone, but the real test now is how well the group can hold together without the player who anchored so much of what they did on the back end. [Read more 🡒]