The Edmonton Oilers may face a difficult decision. After watching Tristan Jarry leave the game on Thursday night with what might be a serious injury, the team has to determine whether the injury is serious or minor, particularly given they have less than 24 hours to make another trade.
The NHL’s holiday roster freeze takes effect at 11:59 p.m. local time tonight and runs until Dec. 28. The Oilers have a couple of games during that time. More than that, if Jarry is out long-term, Edmonton needs a replacement.
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Related: Oilers Beat Bruins, But Potentially Lose Jarry In The Process
Elliotte Friedman noted on the 32 Thoughts podcast, “I actually wrote last week, Edmonton did a lot of research around Alex Lyon. I heard last summer they did too. He was one of the guys they did a kind of deep dive on.” That’s interesting. Even while the organization made a bet on Jarry, they were doing their homework on another netminder.
That is either suggests the Oilers could go either way, or they were looking at completely overhauling the crease.
Friedman added that new Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen has said the three-goalie experiment is coming to an end in Buffalo. He added that the Sabres like Colten Ellis and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, so he doesn’t believe either is going anywhere. If the Sabres are determined to move one of their netminders, it’s Lyon.
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That suggests Buffalo is open for business.
Alex Lyon of the Buffalo Sabres. Photo by: © Timothy T. Ludwig Imagn Images
Friedman added, “I have great respect for Lyon, I think he’s a guy who has saved how many teams with good 10 to 15 game stretches. Like I said, Edmonton has spoken about him, they’ve done their research on him. They looked into him again this season. They called the Sabres a couple of times in recent weeks…. It comes down to, is Buffalo ready to do this? And, it also comes down to how seriously Jarry might be hurt. But I wouldn’t be surprised at all if they didn’t make a call to Buffalo on Friday if they hadn’t already.”
The only downside for the Oilers here is that Buffalo now holds all the leverage. If the word is Jarry is hurt and the Oilers like Lyon, Edmonton may be forced to overpay given that there aren’t many other options available. Kekalainen will know this and if he’s doing his job, work that angle with the Oilers backed into a corner.
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