Not Guilty

[cjb]

Should the Oilers get Carter Hart, they need a goalie.

[30ranfordfan]

I'm still firmly in the camp that the Oilers do not *NEED* a goalie. Do I think Stuart Skinner is an elite top-10 netminder? I do not. Do I think he's a perfectly capable NHL starting goalie? Yes I do.

Their goaltending was good enough to get them to back-to-back Stanley Cup finals. Of course they did lose in the end, the job was not finished, and the goaltending was not good in either finals. It had good moments, but overall not good. My opinion - If the goalies had been switched (Stu for Bob) in 2024, the Oilers win that final. If they'd been switched this past season (2025) the Panthers still win. They outplayed Edmonton by a wide margin for most of the series.

The Oilers have a 26 year old starter, with 50 playoff games under his belt, who has been to two Stanley Cup finals, and $2.6 million a season. They don't need Skinner to be better. They need him to be more consistent. Consistency, the mental side of the game, is something that I believe can get better with age (unlike raw skill). I think it is still likely that his consistency improves.

I also think that he became the starter much sooner than the organization planned. I believe that they intended that he & Jack Campbell would be able to play in a 1A / 1B type situation, while Skinner grew. Campbell washed out quickly, and a still unfinished product in Skinner is in the net.

I do get the sense they'll make a move for goalie, either a cheap FA, trade for a vet, or a waiver claim in training camp - and get an upgrade on Pickard. Someone who has been a #1, or looks like they could be - and they'll be able to run with more of a platoon situation this upcoming season.

Now, could Carter Hart be that guy? He could. The idea of a Hart / Skinner platoon could make a lot of sense. Hart will come cheap (1 or 2 year deal, probably costs less than Skinner's current $2.6m. Maybe even signs for < $1m just to get back into the league). He's from the area, and I'm pretty sure I read at one point, that Hart & Skinner were teammates in minor hockey once.

Edmonton has a history of taking on players with off-ice issues, and rehabilitating them (if that's the right way to phrase it?). Corey Perry & Evander Kane are recent examples, but Craig MacTavish was jailed for killing someone, was traded to Edmonton after his release, and he went on to have a pretty good career. There's been others in between.

Do I think, in terms of skill, this would represent an upgrade for the Oilers? I do, yes.

Do I think it's a big enough upgrade that it's worth it? I'm not sure, and it probably isn't. The Oilers, or any team, signing Carter Hart are asking for massive distraction. This will be all anyone will want to talk about in training camp. This will be all anyone will want to talk during the season. Playoffs? It will be a huge part of the story, in every single round. Does the organization want that? Do they want the public outcry that's going to come with signing him? Is he really *THAT* good?

Honestly, signing Ilya Samsonov or claiming Michael DiPietro off waivers makes more sense to me.

[FallenAngel]

I like skinner but could use a more consistent net minder but not sure hart is that guy. Have to agree that llya or Michael would be a better fit