Edmonton Oilers goaltender Jack Campbell was placed on waivers Tuesday, the latest development for the preseason Stanley Cup contenders who have the second-worst record in the NHL.
The Oilers placed Campbell on waivers for the purpose of assignment with the intent that he will play for their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, in an attempt to gain the sort of consistency that has eluded him this season.
Consistency has been an issue for the Oilers through their first 11 games of the season as they have slumped to a 2-8-1 start. Only the winless San Jose Sharks at 0-10-1 have a worse record than the Oilers, who are tied with the Minnesota Wild for the second-most goals allowed this season.
Campbell is 1-4 with a 4.50 goals-against average and .873 save percentage. His lone win came Oct. 17 in a 6-1 victory against the Nashville Predators that saw him finish with 43 saves. It was the only game in which Campbell has recorded a save percentage greater than .900. That includes Campbell's most recent performance, also against the Predators, which saw him allow five goals on 34 shots.
Then there's the additional context of how the decision to send Campbell to the AHL comes with even more questions for the future.
Back in 2022, the Oilers reached the Western Conference finals, where they lost to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. The Oilers used the offseason to sign Campbell to a five-year deal worth $5 million annually with the belief that Campbell, who was previously with the Toronto Maple Leafs, could be the goalie who helps them reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Campbell's first season also featured inconsistency in that while he won 21 games he also finished with a career-worst 3.41 GAA and a save percentage of .888. He worked in tandem with rookie Stuart Skinner to help the Oilers finish second in the Pacific Division. Campbell was Skinner's backup in the playoffs but was used in relief on four occasions, which saw him post a 1.02 GAA and a .961 save percentage in a little more than 29 minutes.
What Campbell did in relief of Skinner generated questions about whether the Oilers should turn to Campbell. They stuck with Skinner and were ultimately eliminated in the second round by the now-defending Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights.
Even with a second-round exit, the Oilers entered this season as a Stanley Cup contender in a crowded Western Conference landscape that included the Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Avalanche and Golden Knights as the presumed favorites.
But now? The Oilers have lost three straight games and entered Tuesday six points out of the final Western Conference wild-card spot at a time when teams that are not within striking distance of a playoff spot by Thanksgiving typically struggle to reach the playoffs.
Sending Campbell to the AHL, where he has not played since the 2017-18 season, mirrors what the Kings did last season with Cal Petersen. The Kings signed Petersen to a three-year deal worth $5 million annually only to see him start the 2022-23 season with a 5-3-2 record along with a 3.75 GAA and .868 save percentage.
The Kings sent Petersen to the AHL, where he remained for the rest of the season before he was eventually traded in June to the Philadelphia Flyers as part of a three-team deal involving the Columbus Blue Jackets.