The Edmonton Oilers hit rock bottom in front of their entire country on Saturday night when they lost 9-1 to the Colorado Avalanche. It was a tough night for two of Canada's hockey darlings, as the Boston Bruins handed the Toronto Maple Leafs a loss, and then Connor McDavid and the Oilers were booed off the ice. However, it wouldn't be the first time in the past couple of years that the Oilers had an embarrassing loss and then rallied to do something special.
For the first time, Kris Knoblauch might've admitted some concerns about his goaltending, whether he meant to do it or not. Stuart Skinner has been a sore spot amongst Oilers fans for the past several years, but the team has always shown him support. On Saturday night after the game, Knoblauch took a little too long to answer a question about his goaltending.
The reaction says it all.
— Jesse Courville-Lynch (@JCourvilleLynch) November 9, 2025
Roughly 5.5 seconds before he actually gives an answer to the question, they’ve lost belief in the goaltending. https://t.co/JpNrohtFAD
Could the Bruins and Oilers complete another trade?
Don Sweeney and Stan Bowman are familiar with discussing trades, and Joonas Korpisalo has been a name circulating in trade rumors. The Bruins feel comfortable giving Jeremy Swayman more games after his recent performance, and they also have confidence in Michael Dipietro to come up from Providence and serve as Swayman's backup. The emergence of Simon Zajicek also improves the team's goaltending depth.
Personally, I wouldn't get too excited if I were an Oilers fan and Korpisalo was brought in to be the team's savior. He has been solid in his appearances this season, but over the last three seasons, he has never recorded a save percentage above .893 or a goals-against average below 2.90. It might be a slight improvement over Skinner and Calvin Pickard, but it also isn't the numbers that you want to tie McDavid and Leon Draisaitl's prime to.
Sweeney has an opportunity to catch the Oilers at their weakest right now. They'll be desperate to make a statement after that blow-out loss to the Avalanche, and adding a new goaltender to the mix would be a good way to quiet the growing concerns from their fan base and buy the rest of the players some time. While the Oilers aren't going to give the Bruins anyone who will make an immediate impact because they need those players themselves, Sweeney should be able to acquire a solid pick and/or prospect.
Bowman might be a bit hesitant to make a deal with Sweeney. Most general managers win in their dealings with Sweeney. Still, the Trent Frederic acquisition and subsequent signing haven't been the greatest move for Bowman, and the Bruins are loving what Viktor Arvidsson has given them after this past summer's cap dump. Bowman might think that he has to win one of these deals eventually, but a desperate team doesn't usually make the best decisions, which is why Sweeney should strike now.