Oilers GM Ken Holland reveals the plan for Jack Campbell in 2023-24

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Mike Armenti
August 28, 2023 (9:23)

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For the Edmonton Oilers, their first season into Jack Campbell's 5-year, $25M deal was an absolute nightmare. Campbell played about as poorly as a $5M goalie can play and it led to the Oilers starting rookie netminder Stuart Skinner in the playoffs, instead of Campbell, who was the Oilers' key addition last summer.

Coming into this summer, there were some rumours circulating that the Oilers could look to use a buyout on Campbell or that they could look to package him with a significant sweetener to move the final 4 years of his deal. Unfortunately, neither situation worked out for the Oilers, as they both came with substantial downsides. On one hand, they'd have to lose a key piece of their future. On the other hand, a buyout just one year into his deal would cost the Oilers a good amount of money for twice the length of the remaining contract.

I can imagine that you know where this is going. The Oilers and General Manager Ken Holland have revealed the plan for Campbell this season.

"We're going to start with the seven defensemen who finished last year. The goalies are set." - Ken Holland on running it back with Campbell and Skinner

Time will tell if this is the right decision, but there's no way that Campbell's 2023-24 season can be any worse than his 2022-23 season, right?

Campbell played in 36 games for the Oilers last season, posting a 21-9-4 record, along with 1 shutout, a 3.41 goals-against-average and a .888 SV%. The record is pretty deceiving. 21-9-4 is a very good record, but his peripheral numbers aren't that of an NHL goaltender - certainly not a starter.

The Oilers banking on Campbell having a huge bounce back season is certainly a choice, especially when they're gambling the prime years of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.

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Do you think the Oilers should be bought out Jack Campbell?
Yes, he's not an NHL starter	70	41.7 %
No, he's still a good goalie	48	28.6 %
He should, but the cap makes it impossible	50	29.8 %
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