Jack Campbell may cost the Oilers one of their top prospects
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When former Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jack Campbell inked a 5-year, $25M deal with the Edmonton Oilers two off-seasons ago, Oilers fans said "Thank you very much", while Leaf fans said "No, thank YOU", knowing that Campbell was not a sustainable option as a number one.
Campbell struggled in his first year in Edmonton last season and eventually lost the net to Stuart Skinner. well, it's been more of the same this season and worse, as Campbell was placed on waivers and sent down to Bakersfield of the AHL. When he was sent down, the Oilers were hoping he would find his game again, but that has not happened. In fact, things have gotten worse - as if that was possible.
In 10 AHL games, Jack Campbell has allowed 3+ goals eight times. So far in December he's 2-2 with a .877 save percentage and was called out by by Bakersfield head coach Colin Chaulk on Sportstalk 1440.
"Recently, it is goals that are going in that need to be stopped. When he first got here, he wasn't in a place he wanted to be, then he found it and played well, but then, last game, three go in that he needs to stop. His attitude has been great, and we need him to stop the ones he should." - More here from The Hockey Writers.
Those comments surely won't do Campbell's confidence any good and with his contract still counting as $3.85M against the Oilers' cap while in the AHL, the team is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Not only is Campbell's contract almost impossible to move, but their top defensive prospect, Philip Broberg, is not pleased with his current place on the depth chart. On TSN's Insider Trading segment, Darren Dreger reported that Broberg wants to be in the NHL, and while the Oilers would like to trade him for an asset, they may actually have to use him as a sweetener to move Campbell's deal instead.
"He wants to be back in the NHL, that's not likely in Edmonton unless there is an injury, so trade seems the most likely. Here's an interesting twist, maybe it's not Broberg for an asset coming back to the Oilers, maybe Broberg becomes the sweetener so that they can also move Jack Campbell's contract to free up a little bit of cap space."
The Oilers, while hoping Campbell can regain his form and help the team later in the season, would undoubtedly welcome the $5M in cap space that moving his contract could open up. However, they were also hoping that they would be able to recoup an asset for Broberg in a trade, but now it appears they may have to give him away for nothing in order to get the cap space they desire.
The former 8th overall pick in the 2019 draft was supposed to already be a full-time NHLer playing top-four minutes, but his path has been blocked by veterans that the Oilers have continuously brought in instead. When looking at the 2019 draft and the players taken after him, Connor McDavid could be playing with Trevor Zegras (9th overall) or Cole Caufield (15th overall) on his wing instead, but the Oilers opted for the Swedish defenseman to help build up the blueline.
The Oilers are in turmoil to say the least and with the NHL's roster freeze now in effect, they will have to wait even longer to address their two most public issues.
| POLL | ||
DECEMBRE 20 | 787 ANSWERS Jack Campbell may cost the Oilers one of their top prospects Will the Oilers be able to move Campbell? | ||
| No, he's too expensive | 539 | 68.5 % |
| Yes, if they include Broberg or another prospect | 248 | 31.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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