Igor Shesterkin’s knee injury has done more than knock the Rangers’ season off course. It may also make life harder for the Edmonton Oilers, even though they’re nowhere near the front of the line for a goalie move right now.
Shesterkin is out for the season, and with Joonas Korpisalo also sidelined for the next few weeks, the Rangers are left with Dylan Garand and Spencer Martin. Martin was just recalled from the Hartford Whalers, and New York is suddenly trying to patch together a crease that looked stable only days ago. The Rangers have opened 4-2, but the injury pileup is forcing them to keep searching for help rather than simply absorb the loss and move on.
A Yahoo Sports piece laid out four unsigned goaltenders the Rangers could chase: Connor Ingram, James Reimer, Matt Murray, and Petr Mrazek. But Ingram and Mrazek appear to be out of the picture for different reasons, with Ingram having made his intent to retire from professional hockey clear and Mrazek only recently undergoing hip surgery.
Trade targets have been part of the conversation too. Inside the Rink pointed to Sam Montembeault and Jordan Binnington as possible options, though either path would create cap problems.
Montembeault carries a $3.150 million hit, while Binnington would require St. Louis to absorb more than half of his $6 million cap number if the Rangers were going to make the money work.
That’s where Edmonton gets dragged into the mess.
The Oilers don’t have a strong hand in goal, and that alone keeps them exposed if the market starts moving. Devon Levi may be trending up, but Tristan Jarry is still viewed as a liability to some degree, even with his outing against the San Jose Sharks in mind, and Stanley Cup champion Frederik Andersen is on injured reserve. Beyond that trio, Edmonton’s goaltending prospect pool is only four deep.
It’s not the setup an organization wants in what’s being framed as the most do-or-die season for this Oilers roster. Still, there is at least room for the netminding picture to change things in a hurry.
Connor Hellebuyck has already been tied to Edmonton, and his suspension is generating plenty of attention of its own, with fans now tracking how much money he has lost by sitting out. If the Oilers did land a true star in goal, it would instantly give them one of the league’s scariest goaltending groups. With Andersen and likely one of Jarry or Levi still in the mix, Edmonton would suddenly look equipped to reach the Stanley Cup Final and maybe finish the job.
But the Rangers could complicate that pursuit in a major way.
NHL Trade Talk suggested New York could get involved if it wants to preserve its strong start and push toward a playoff spot. And the Rangers have the assets to make a serious pitch.
They hold their first-round pick in two of the next three drafts and a second-round pick in each of the next three. They also have 14 non-roster forwards, seven non-roster defensemen, and 22 more players who haven’t signed entry-level deals yet.
If Winnipeg decides it wants picks and prospects for Hellebuyck, New York may be able to outbid Edmonton in that kind of market. Even with prospects such as David Lewandowski and Quinn Hutson in the Oilers’ system, the Rangers simply have the edge in draft capital.
That matters because the waiting game on Hellebuyck already isn’t helping Edmonton. If the Rangers decide to press forward with a trade and the Oilers’ own goaltending situation forces them to consider the same route, Edmonton’s case gets weaker by the day.
And the ripple effect might not stop with Hellebuyck. Whatever the Rangers do could trigger a broader goalie carousel, one that pulls in every team uneasy about its crease.
For the Oilers, that only makes the road more difficult.
In Other News...
Oilers May Have Pulled Off Two Steals And One Looks Even Bigger
The early returns on Edmontons recent trade work have been hard to ignore, especially with Vasily Podkolzin giving the forward group a burst the Oilers could use. He has scored seven goals in six games and already looks like the kind of addition that can push deeper into the lineup over time, not just fill a spot in the middle six. For a team that has opened the season with a strong record, those kinds of quick returns can make a front office look awfully sharp.
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 🡒]
Oilers Keep Winning But This Latest Escape Raises A Real Debate
The Oilers kept their unbeaten run rolling with a 4-1 win over the Kings, moving to 5-0-1 and remaining the NHLs only team without a regulation loss. Leon Draisaitl helped drive the offense, Vasily Podkolzin scored twice, and Connor McDavid piled up four assists in his 800th game, another reminder that Edmonton can still tilt a night its way even when the shot totals say otherwise.
Devon Levi may have been the biggest reason it all held together. He turned aside 39 of 40 shots while Edmonton spent long stretches defending rather than dictating, which only sharpened the conversation around how sustainable this start really is. The wins are piling up, but the formula has looked different enough each night that the Oilers early-season success now comes with a lingering question about what happens when the margin for error finally shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Face A Goaltending Decision That Could Define Their Season
Early in the season, the Oilers are already staring at a familiar but urgent problem in net, with Tristan Jarry, Frederik Andersen and Devon Levi all under scrutiny as the club tries to steady the position. It is the kind of issue that can quietly shape everything around it, from the way Edmonton manages its games to how much pressure lands on the skaters in front of the crease.
The market for a fix looks complicated. Connor Hellebuyck, Sam Montembeault, Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill all surface as possible answers, but each comes with real obstacles tied to contract status, performance concerns or the sheer difficulty of prying a goalie loose. For now, Edmonton may be left weighing whether the cleanest move is no move at all, and simply hoping one of its current options settles in before the season gets away from it. [Read more 🡒]