Edmonton Oilers "poked around" trading for yet another veteran goalie, reports NHL insider

This in from Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnets, his latest 32 Thoughts column where he mentions another goalie of interest for the Edmonton Oilers, Alex Lyon , 33, of the Buffalo Sabres.

Wrote Friedman: “In addition to Tristan Jarry, I believe the Oilers poked around Alex Lyon. Not as seriously as Jarry, but it was there. One thing I should have mentioned last Saturday about Jarry, in addition to Pittsburgh’s unwillingness to eat salary, is that the Penguins’ surprise addition to the Eastern Conference race gives them less motivation for an in-season sale. Not impossible, but not as high a priority.”

Lyon’s name came up earlier this week on Oilers Now when former NHL goalie and Sabres broadcaster Martin Biron mentioned him as a trade possibility, given that Buffalo has three NHL goalies on the roster, including Colten Ellis and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

“The guy that may be available would be Alex Lyon. But they signed him because they wanted stability with a little bit of a veteran leadership…. If I was a team interested in a goaltender, I would look at Alex Lyon. He’s got one start in the last 10 games and when he played a lot early in the season, he was really good. He was the brightest spot of the Sabres early season despite the win-loss record. So if I’m a team looking to add something, I would definitely look at Alex Lyon.”

My take

1. Lyon has played the most games of any Sabres goalie, 16, and has the highest save percentage .902. He’s got one more year on a deal that pays him $1.5 million. Luukonen has three more years at $4.75 million. So the salary cap price is close to being right for Lyon.

2. The downside of Lyon? He’s never been as good a goalie as some of the other names mentioned as possibilities for the Oilers such as Jarry, Jordan Binnington or even Laurent Brossoit. He’s bounced around between five organizations. In 128 career NHL games, he’s got a .902 save percentage, which isn’t great considering the NHL average was well above that most of those years. He’s also 33 years old.

3. He doesn’t come across as someone who could seize the starting job from Stuart Skinner. But if Calvin Pickard were to continue to falter, Lyon makes good sense as a replacement for him. In that context, I can see why the Oilers would be interested in him.

4. The Oilers brought in former NHL goalie Connor Ingram but he’s struggling so far in Bakersfield. This could also be part of Edmonton’s interest in Lyon. If Edmonton needs another back-up goalie, a trade may well be the best option, not help from the farm system, not just yet.

5. The Oilers are also said to be recalling d-man Riley Stillman from Bakersfield.  Stillman, 27, has played 163 NHL games over the years, so can plug in if a d-man is hurt. Right now all three Oilers pairings are playing at a high level.

At the Cult of Hockey

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