The Edmonton Oilers are barely into the season, and the same old problem is already staring them in the face: goaltending.
Entering 2026-27, Edmonton rolled with Tristan Jarry, Frederik Andersen, and Devon Levi, and the early returns have done nothing to quiet the doubts that followed each of them into the year. Jarry has been awful.
Andersen is hurt. Levi has been inconsistent.
None of that is exactly a shock, and that’s the frustrating part.
So where does that leave the Oilers if they decide they have to make a move?
If there’s a dream target, it’s Connor Hellebuyck. The Winnipeg Jets goalie requested a trade months ago and is looking for a new landing spot.
For Edmonton, he’s the big swing, the name that changes the conversation. If he wants another shot at a Stanley Cup, the Oilers would have to be on the list.
But that doesn’t make the fit easy. Hellebuyck has five years left on an $8.5MM-per-season contract and a no-movement clause, which makes him a difficult get even before the rest of the puzzle gets sorted out.
Edmonton would almost certainly have to send Jarry back in some form, and Jarry’s 12-team no-trade list probably includes Winnipeg. On top of that, the Oilers don’t have much cap room or many appealing assets to move.
Hellebuyck is the best answer. He’s just not a very realistic one.
After that, the options drop off fast.
Sam Montembeault of the Montreal Canadiens is one name that makes some sense on paper. Montreal has a deep goaltending group, and Montembeault’s 2025-26 season was rough enough that a trade might not cost a fortune.
He carries a $3.15MM cap hit in the final year of his deal, and before last season he was coming off a stretch that even had him in the Vezina Trophy mix - he finished eighth in the voting. Still, his performances have swung wildly from year to year, and the Oilers would be betting on a goalie with the same kind of volatility that already comes with their current setup.
Jordan Binnington is another possibility. He’s been connected to Edmonton before, and he would count as a realistic target, but there are real concerns there too.
His cap hit could be an issue, and his recent play hasn’t been good enough. By the numbers, he’s been one of the league’s worst goalies over the last two seasons.
Yes, he has the reputation of being able to rise to the moment in big games. But the Oilers need regular-season stability first, and there’s not much evidence lately that he can deliver it.
Adin Hill also enters the conversation, though Vegas would hardly seem eager to help the Oilers. The Golden Knights are not exactly the type to make life easier on a divisional rival.
Hill has a Stanley Cup ring and the kind of résumé that suggests he can catch fire when the moment gets big, but his recent play is hard to ignore. He’s got five years left on his contract, including this season, at $6.25MM per year, and while nearly half the money has already been paid in signing bonuses, that price tag still stings.
Last season, he posted an .870 SV%, which is a brutal number for any team considering a trade. Edmonton can’t afford to spend more assets only to land an expensive goalie who still might not solve the problem.
That leaves the least flashy path: do nothing, at least for now, and hope the situation sorts itself out.
It may be the most sensible approach given where Edmonton stands. But it comes with a real danger.
If things go sideways the way they did last December, the Oilers could find themselves chasing help again and paying for it again. Jarry, Andersen, and Levi each come with their own baggage.
Levi is the wild card. Jarry is Jarry.
Andersen’s health is always part of the equation.
If Andersen comes back and gives them steady starts at close to average level, that’s the version Edmonton needs. If not, the list of answers gets thin in a hurry. And if the Oilers decide they have to go for the biggest name on the board, Hellebuyck is still sitting there as the massive swing at the end of it all.
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Devon Levi has added a different kind of value in goal, staying undefeated and turning in impressive numbers in his recent starts. His arrival gave Edmonton another option in a position where stability always matters, and the fact that both moves are paying off at once has only raised the profile of the deals. One looks like a timely boost, the other may be starting to feel like a bigger swing altogether, which is exactly the sort of outcome the Oilers were hoping for. [Read more 🡒]
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McDavid Sees Something Real In This Oilers Start
The Oilers keep stacking up early points, and the latest one came in a 4-1 win over the Kings that pushed Edmonton to 5-0-1 and left it as the NHLs only team without a regulation loss. It also capped a perfect three-game road trip through California, a strong enough opening to invite bigger-picture talk around a team that has not started this well since the 1984-85 season.
Connor McDavid has been right at the center of it, sitting on 17 points through six games while also making a point to single out Devon Levis work in net. For the Oilers, that kind of production up front paired with steady goaltending is exactly the sort of early-season combination that can make a hot start feel like something more durable. [Read more 🡒]