The Edmonton Oilers have to address their precarious goalie situation this summer. Edmonton used four different netminders throughout the 2025-26 season, and none of them had stellar campaigns. At the moment, Tristan Jarry is the only player at this position currently under contract for the Oilers. Jarry has two more years remaining on his $5.37 million AAV deal.
Because of this, Edmonton will have to bring in at least one more netminder. Sportsnet’s Mark Spector is reporting that the Oilers and general manager Stan Bowman are interested in signing Daniil Tarasov. The unrestricted free agent recently departed the Florida Panthers after failing to agree on an extension. Florida has since completed their goalie tandem for the upcoming campaign by bringing in veterans Jacob Markstrom and Akira Schmid.
Edmonton’s interest in Tarasov is certainly interesting. After all, the 27-year-old netminder has never played more than 33 NHL games in a season. He most recently reached this figure by filling in for Sergei Bobrovsky this past campaign. The 6’5″ Russian recorded a 3.05 GAA and .895 save percentage during his final year in South Florida.
As Spector points out, Tarasov’s limited playing time throughout his career was partially due to ongoing injuries. According to Fox Sports, the goalie has endured six different injuries/illnesses in the last four years. He most recently suffered a lower-body injury with Florida in early February. Tarasov also missed significant time due to a hip issue back in 2022. Because of these red flags, Spector admits that Edmonton targeting the Russian is a gamble.
Daniil Tarasov Would be a Risky, but Cheap Option for the Edmonton Oilers
GettyFormer Florida Panther Daniil Tarasov could be a cost-effective target for the Edmonton Oilers.
Tarasov is, however, now healthy and entering his prime. The Edmonton Oilers could believe that a move for the netminder would be worth the risk. Nevertheless, the Russian is not the only realistic option for the Alberta club. Edmonton has been linked with several other goalies, including Sam Montembeault and Jordan Binnington.
While this particular duo is widely regarded as higher-rated than Tarasov, the Oilers do not have a ton of money to work with at the moment. According to Puckpedia.com, Edmonton has just over $7 million in projected cap space. Offloading Darnell Nurse’s $9.25 million AAV salary would, however, free up some extra funds for Bowman.
The Athletic’s Chris Johnston has ranked Tarasov as the 74th-best NHL unrestricted free agent this summer. According to the NHL insider, the Russian netminder is projected to receive a contract of around two years, $3 million in the coming days. If so, the Oilers could quite easily afford the deal.
Edmonton Not Ruling Out Bringing Back Former Goalie
Although Spector is linking the Edmonton Oilers with Tarasov, he is also not closing the door on Connor Ingram returning to the fray. The unrestricted free agent recently finished off his $1.15 million AAV deal with the club. While Edmonton used four different goalies in 2025-26, Ingram posted the best stats on the team.
The veteran recorded a fairly impressive 2.60 GAA and .899 save percentage during his lone campaign in western Canada. Nevertheless, it remains to be seen if the Oilers want to stick with Ingram after he underperformed in the recent playoffs. Ingram started five of his team’s six postseason games, as Edmonton posted the worst GAA among all 16 teams in the race.
Oilers Interested in Signing Former Panthers Veteran Goalie