Edmonton — The Edmonton Oilers suffered a difficult loss against the Minnesota Wild Friday night. Despite outshooting them, they ended up losing 4-2.
Some may blame the goalie, Calvin Pickard, while others blame a failure to capitalize on scoring opportunities. Last night, Kris Knoblauch said, “I think we accomplished a lot of wonderful things, but one thing I don’t think we did well was finish.”
With the trade deadline approaching in 13 days, the Oilers must put themselves in the greatest position to succeed. Both in games and in getting the upgrades required to advance deep into the playoffs.
What is the greatest approach for them to achieve that? Call up Jack Campbell. Campbell has been playing exceptionally consistently in the AHL for a long. His performances have changed as the calendar has flipped to 2024.
Since January 1st, he has appeared in 11 Bakersfield Condors games. During four games, he conceded 27 goals on 349 shots. This left him with a 2.45 goals against average (GAA) and a.923 save percentage (SV%).The NHL.
That consistency should be enough to merit a call-up, if only to demonstrate to the league’s other 31 general managers that Campbell has rediscovered form. It’s one thing to have your play improve in the AHL; it’s another to have that transcend to the NHL.
When considering the Oilers assets that could be dealt, none have a substantial cap hit. Brett Kulak, Cody Ceci, Philip Broberg, and even Warren Foegele all earn $3.25 million or less.Campbell owes $5 million for the balance of this year and three more years. Moving Campbell is the most effective approach for the Oilers to acquire many players before the trade deadline.
It could refer to a package of numerous assets, including Campbell. However, removing the old Toronto Maple Leafs cap hit from the books is the most cost-effective approach to make the desired additions to the organization.
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Caleb Kerney works as the Site Editor and Reporter for The Hockey News’ Edmonton Oilers franchise website. He is the Deputy Site Editor for the Philadelphia Flyers, Colorado Avalanche, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Boston Bruins’ websites. Caleb, a citizen of Edmonton, has been writing about hockey for over a year. He enjoys spending his free time with his wife and two children, as well as playing Fantasy Hockey. Follow him on Twitter at @CKerneyWriter.
