Oilers can meet projected trade price to acquire goalie Ilya Sorokin from Islanders

To this point, no NHL insiders have indicated that Sorokin could be available for trade, but with the Islanders trading Noah Dobson and selecting first overall in the draft, they're clearly in a re-tooling phase to get younger.

The most recent comparable trade for an elite goaltender was the Ottawa Senators acquiring Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins in March of 2024. Ullmark and Sorokin are so comparable, that trade costs would be very similar for both goalies.

Ullmark is a career .917 goaltender, and was coming off a Vezina Trophy in 2022-23. The Ottawa Senators traded Joonas Korpisalo, Mark Kastelic, and a first round pick to get Ullmark.

Sorokin has a career save percentage of .917, and has played 253 NHL games since joining the league in 2020.

If the Islanders would deal Sorokin for a similar package that Ullmark got, the Oilers would be giving up Stuart Skinner, a higher ranked prospect like Beau Akey, and a first round draft pick.

Even if the Islanders demanded another prospect or draft pick from the Edmonton Oilers, they should be jumping all over a deal. Such a trade wouldn't affect their win-now window at all, and in fact, they'd gain one of the top goalies in the NHL.

If the Islanders would be willing to move him, the only challenge for the Oilers would be clearing out enough space to fit Sorokin's $8.25M cap hit - which is a fine number for an elite starter. Moving out Arvidsson and Henrique would give the Oilers a chance.

The Oilers are clearly a Stanley Cup Calibre team, but one that's second guessing their starting goalie decision in Game 5 of the Final. They simply must acquire a different look for their net this season, and Sorokin is one option who is a massive proven upgrade over both Skinner and Pickard.