The Edmonton Oilers are staring at a goaltending headache that won’t go away. Less than two years after back-to-back Stanley Cup Final appearances, the team finds itself with one NHL-caliber netminder under contract for next season — and that guy, Tristan Jarry, posted a 3.86 goals-against average and .858 save percentage in 2025-26. Yikes.
Stuart Skinner is gone. Calvin Pickard and Connor Ingram are both set to become unrestricted free agents on July 1. That leaves Jarry, who looked more like a backup than a starter after coming over from Pittsburgh, as the only goaltender currently on the books in Alberta.
Which brings us to Montreal. The Canadiens have some interesting depth in goal, thanks to Jakub Dobes’ impressive playoff run and blue-chip prospect Jacob Fowler knocking on the door. That depth has created speculation about who stays and who goes — and according to a report from Maxime Truman of the Montreal sports site DansLesCoulisses.com, the Oilers are sniffing around Samuel Montembeault.
“I’ve learned that the Oilers have a strong interest in Samuel Montembeault. They aren’t the only ones, and Montembeault isn’t the only candidate on their list, but there’s clearly a path that could lead to a trade,” Truman wrote earlier this week.
Montembeault had a rough 2025-26 season. He started the year as Montreal’s No. 1, lost the job, and eventually ended up in the AHL with the Laval Rocket. In 25 NHL appearances, the 29-year-old posted a 3.43 GAA and .872 save percentage. His Quality Starts percentage — a stat measuring how often a goalie gives his team a legit chance to win — cratered from 70% in 2023-24 to just 34.8% last season.
That’s not exactly the kind of résumé that screams “savior.” But Montembeault has one year left on his deal at a $3.15 million cap hit, making him an affordable buy-low candidate for a team desperate for stability between the pipes.
The Oilers haven’t confirmed any interest, and the team has not commented on the report. But the logic is there: Edmonton needs bodies in net, and Montreal has a logjam. A change of scenery could help Montembeault rediscover the form that once made him the starter in Montreal.
Alternatively, the Oilers could just re-sign Ingram and roll with an Ingram-Jarry tandem. Neither option feels like a sure thing, but given the current market, Edmonton may have to get creative. If nothing else, the rumor mill is giving fans something to talk about as the offseason heats up.
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