Last Friday, the Edmonton Oilers pulled off a big trade to acquire Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak.
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Well, it turns out that this was not the only goalie they had interest in acquiring. In a recent report from Elliotte Friedman, it appears the Oilers also had interest in Buffalo Sabres goaltender Alex Lyon before pulling the trigger on the Jarry trade. Friedman explained that Edmonton could have been looking at both options, but ultimately opted to go with Jarry, at least for now.
Oilers Had Interest in Lyon
In Friedman’s most recent 32 Thoughts blog, he shared that he heard the Oilers were poking around to see what it would take to acquire Lyon. This comes with the Sabres having three goalies on their roster and Devon Levi playing in the American Hockey League. However, Edmonton was more serious about trading for Jarry and eventually went through with that deal.
Here is what Friedman had to say:
“In addition to Tristan Jarry, I believe the Oilers poked around Alex Lyon. Not as seriously as Jarry, but it was there.”
It would have been interesting if they were able to find a way to acquire Lyon as well. This would have been the second time in two seasons that we would have seen a team change its goaltending tandem during the season. Last season, the Colorado Avalanche did exactly that when they traded for both MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood. Technically, the Oilers can still do something similar without acquiring Lyon, as they traded for Connor Ingram from the Utah Mammoth earlier this season. However, he has been in the American Hockey League since that trade happened.
At this point, it is clear that Edmonton wanted to swap out Skinner for Jarry and get a fresh look in their net. So far through two games, Jarry has played well. The concern, though, is the long-term outlook. Jarry has shown during his time with the Penguins that he may not be a reliable long-term starting goalie. But if the Oilers turn to Calvin Pickard, they are not going to get much better results, as he has one of the worst save percentages in the entire NHL.
Because of that, it really does seem inevitable that by the 2026 NHL Trade Deadline, the Oilers either call up Ingram or acquire a more reliable backup option, such as Lyon or Laurent Brossoit from the Chicago Blackhawks.
