Opinion: Edmonton Oilers Won't Use Three NHL Goaltenders For Long

In recent years, NHL teams have favored goaltending tandems at times, rather than a pure workhorse goaltender. Entering the 2026-27 season, the Edmonton Oilers are taking that up a notch, as they are expected to run a trio of goalies. The Edmonton Oilers are entering the season with three legitimate NHL goaltenders — Tristan Jarry, Devon Levi, and Frederik Andersen — but nobody around the team is pretending this is a permanent arrangement. While the plan is to start the 2026-27 campaign with all three splitting starts, it's part of a journey, not a destination. The math suggests this strategy falls apart well before the playoffs.The Oilers haven’t revealed their workload plans. Perhaps we can assume that if all goes right, it's roughly 30 starts for Jarry, 25 for Levi, and 29 for Andersen. This has to be flexible as there are several reasons these predictions might be way off. Andersen could play 35 if Levi and Jarry struggle. He could get 20 if age has caught up to him. Levi could get 40 if he steps into the NHL this season and wows. He could get 15-20 if his AHL numbers are the best he has to offer. Jarry may not find his game again. There’s a very real possibility his contract is buried in Bakersfield. Jarry, meanwhile, is coming off an .858 save percentage in Edmonton — some of the worst goaltending metrics in the league. The promising start to his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins fell apart; he was traded, and the Oilers never got the starter they were hoping for when they sent Stuart Skinner the other way.Levi is a talented 24-year-old who's only played 39 NHL games and posted an .894 save percentage in them. He’s unproven, and what he can handle in terms of a workload remains to be seen. In short, all could play well, but there’s just as good a chance that none of them do. If any one of the three separates from the pack — Levi gets hot, Jarry rediscovers his Pittsburgh form, or Andersen simply plays well and stays healthy — the tandem effectively selects itself. The third man becomes a trade chip or a cap-relief candidate almost overnight. If Andersen gets hurt (again) or Jarry regresses (again), Edmonton won't be managing three goalies anymore; they'll be managing an emergency.Both outcomes point in the same direction: by Christmas, this stops being a three-goalie system and starts being a two-goalie tandem with a name attached to trade rumors. The only real question is which goalie ends up being the odd one out — and whether it's because he won the job or lost it.For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free.