The Oilers are bringing back depth, with Jason Dickinson reportedly returning, but Jim Matheson says the signing that matters most is a goalie.
The depth picture came first. Per Karman Gill, Dickinson sounds like he's coming back, and Connor Murphy is the most important of the smaller signings.
Matheson then raised the stakes. The Oilers need both ex-Hawks back, he said, but the most important signing is a goalie.
He added a wrinkle, framing it as a goalie to play alongside Jarry, unless Edmonton trades for one instead. Worth noting, I can't independently confirm Jarry's status with the Oilers, so that's Matheson's framing.
Either way, the message is unmistakable. Goaltending is the top need.
Matheson cut straight to the priority.
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Depth re-signings are fine, the goalie is the priority
Start with the depth pieces. Dickinson, 30 on a $4.25 million deal, and Murphy, a 33-year-old defenseman at $4.4 million, are useful bottom-of-roster veterans.
Those are sensible re-signings, the kind Stan Bowman has been quietly working through. Mark Spector recently noted Bowman is getting business done beneath the louder dramas.
But Matheson is right to elevate the crease. It lines up with everything else this offseason.
Edmonton has been hunting goaltending all summer. Maxime Truman reported interest in Samuel Montembeault, and there's been dream talk around bigger names like Connor Hellebuyck.
Matheson reinforcing it as the top priority fits that pattern. The need has been obvious for a while.
Here's why it matters most. A contender built around Connor McDavid can't keep entering seasons with a question mark in net. Goaltending is the piece that has repeatedly haunted them.
The two paths are clear, as Matheson laid out. Sign one, or trade for one. Either way, it's the move that defines the summer.
Here's my read: the depth signings are good housekeeping, but they're not the headline. Bowman can re-sign all the veterans he wants, and it won't matter if the crease isn't solved.
The goalie is the difference-maker next to McDavid. Everything else is secondary.
So beneath the Dickinson and Murphy talk, the real story is the hunt for a netminder. Whether Bowman signs or trades for one, that's the decision that shapes Edmonton's ceiling.
The rest is just filling out the roster.
Is a goalie the Oilers' most important addition this summer?
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