Erik Johnson’s Saturday Headlines take on the Edmonton Oilers’ goaltending drew plenty of attention, and not for the right reasons.
Johnson said the Oilers should go after Jordan Binnington of the St. Louis Blues, or, if not him, Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators.
He made the case bluntly: “I think he still has some gas left in the tank. If I’m Edmonton, I’m doing absolutely everything I can to get this guy, or even a Saros out of Nashville.”
That idea didn’t exactly land. Fans piled on afterward, and the reaction matched what the panel seemed to be thinking in the moment: this was a big miss.
Binnington’s résumé is real, but his current form is hard to ignore. In five games this season, he has a 4.27 goals-against average and an .851 save percentage.
He’s lost the starting job to Joel Hofer, who has played 12 games and posted a 2.36 goals against with a .919 save percentage. At this point, Binnington looks far closer to a goalie in decline than a rental worth chasing.
Saros is a different conversation, but not an easy one. He has the stronger numbers, yet that doesn’t mean Nashville is eager to move him.
He has a full no-move and is tied to a long-term contract worth $7.74 million per season. That’s a heavy lift for any team, even one that sees him as the more proven option.
The bigger issue is that Edmonton doesn’t appear to be desperate in net right now.
Devon Levi came back for the Oilers and delivered in a 4-2 win over the Vancouver Canucks on Saturday night. He looked composed, steady and ready to step back into the starter’s role after his injury. Tristan Jarry has also been better this season than he was last year, giving Edmonton solid coverage while Levi was out.
That leaves the Oilers in a pretty good spot, with Frederik Andersen also working his way back from injury. Once he’s available, Edmonton will have a crowded crease and some real decisions to make. If all three are performing well, there’s a fair question about where Andersen fits at all.
Under those circumstances, the idea of moving one of those pieces just to take a swing on Binnington feels extreme. And even if Edmonton’s goaltending did wobble, Binnington probably still wouldn’t be the answer.
Johnson may not have fully clocked how stable the Oilers’ situation is right now. Edmonton might eventually decide these three goalies aren’t the fix for its Stanley Cup problems, but Stan Bowman doesn’t seem likely to rush into a deal for a Blues netminder who has been worse than what the Oilers already have.
Johnson was strong on the panel overall. This one, though, was a swing and a miss.
In Other News...
Chris MacFarland Quietly Built A Predators Line Fans Can Trust
When the Predators brought in Chris MacFarland as their new general manager, the moves that followed looked like the kind of depth work a roster needs over the long haul, not the sort of splash that grabs immediate attention. He reached into Colorado for Ross Colton and goalie Isak Posch, then added Jack Drury and Chase Bradley in a separate deal before bringing in Adam Edstrom from the Rangers, giving Nashville a set of new pieces that fit into the lineup in a meaningful way.
What has made those additions stand out is how quickly they have become part of a line the Predators can actually lean on. Instead of serving as interchangeable depth, the group has helped form one of Nashvilles most effective lines this season, a useful sign for a team that has spent plenty of time searching for steadier production beyond its top names. The bigger question now is how much more MacFarland can squeeze out of those moves as the season goes on. [Read more 🡒]