Goalie Market Heating Up As Teams are Expected to 'Battle' for Top Free Agent

The market for goaltenders is quite thin this summer as there are few big name free agents available to sign.

Some of the top names on the market include guys like Alexander Georgiev, Vitek Vanecek, and Jake Allen.

Of those three, Allen is by far the most consistent throughout his career, but the 34-year-old hasn't played in a starter's role regularly since the early days of his career.

But given the teams out there that are in need of help in goal, this could be an opportunity for him to take on a bigger role and perhaps take home a bigger salary in what could be the final contract of his career.

According to NHL insider David Pagnotta, there are three teams with keen interest in Allen this offseason; San Jose, Philadelphia, and Edmonton.

Of those three teams, the Oilers are the organization that ought to be the most desperate.

After all, the Oilers just lost their second straight Stanley Cup final and just like last year, their goaltending was a big part of the reason why.

A tandem of Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard just isn't enough to earn the hardest trophy to win in professional sports.

One could argue that Allen isn't that big of an upgrade over either of them, but his career save percentage of .907 across 460 games is an encouraging sign.

After all, Skinner has a career save percentage of just .893 in the playoffs and is coming off a run where he had a .889 save percentage and a 2.99 goals-against-average, despite putting up three shutouts.

That being said, if Allen gets taken or is seen as not good enough, the Oilers could make a trade instead.

In fact, the team could be poised for a massive upgrade in goal as All-Star netminder Thatcher Demko is reportedly available for trade.

Assuming Demko can stay healthy, he could be the final piece Edmonton needs to get their own championship.

Regardless, one thing is clear, Stuart Skinner is not a goalie the team can rely on to win it all.