The Edmonton Oilers might be able to move on from Jack Campbell for this reason
Just over two months ago, most hockey analysts were wondering whether Edmonton Oilers GM Ken Holland would still have a job with the team after this season. Now, it seems like he's doing everything right, as the firing of Jay Woodcroft to replace him with Kris Knoblauch has lit a fire under the Oilers roster. Edmonton has gone 23-6-0 since that happened, and Holland looks like he's set himself up perfectly to solve another issue.
Perhaps the biggest issue early in the season for Edmonton was the goaltending. Specifically, terrible play from $5 million a year netminder Jack Campbell. Campbell has been playing in the minors since Nov.9, 2023, Holland would, obviously, love to move him to free up extra cap space. However, his play, even in the AHL, has simply not been good enough to get teams calling. It will take a sweetener to move Campbell, and signing Corey Perry, according to on insider, makes that much easier.
The Oilers drafted Dylan Holloway and he's been in their system since 2020. However, getting a player the calibre of Perry, which should add some excellent depth to the team, without giving up roster players, prospects, or draft picks, makes adding that sweetener to a deal to ship out Campbell far easier on Holland. It may have been luck in the long run, but it's very beneficial either way. Holland also signed Perry to a contract with a cap hit of $775,000. Before being ditched by the Blackhawks, the one-time Stanley Cup winner carried a cap hit of $4.0 million. It's a big win for Holland, if Perry can continue to play the way he has for the past few years.
| POLL | ||
Can the Oilers make it to the Stanley Cup Final this season? | ||
| Yes, I think so | 142 | 41.3 % |
| No, the team still isn't there | 173 | 50.3 % |
| I'm not sure | 29 | 8.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
