This is the 2025-26 edition — an archived read. Read the 2026-27 report →
Calvin Pickard
Edmonton Oilers Goaltender
An .8999 in 36 games, and a backup who keeps being asked to be more.
| Season | Team | GP | W | L | OTL | GA | GAA | SO | SA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014-15 | COL | 16 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 35 | 2.35 | 0 | 511 | .931 |
| 2015-16 | COL | 20 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 42 | 2.56 | 1 | 539 | .922 |
| 2016-17 | COL | 50 | 15 | 31 | 2 | 140 | 2.98 | 2 | 1461 | .904 |
| 2017-18 | TOR | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 3.83 | 0 | 28 | .857 |
| 2018-19 | PHI/ARI | 17 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 48 | 3.86 | 1 | 384 | .875 |
| 2019-20 | DET | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 15 | 5.46 | 0 | 74 | .797 |
| 2020-21 | DET | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 3.16 | 0 | 127 | .874 |
| 2021-22 | DET | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 4.30 | 0 | 72 | .875 |
| 2023-24 | EDM | 23 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 53 | 2.45 | 1 | 581 | .909 |
| 2024-25 | EDM | 36 | 22 | 10 | 1 | 85 | 2.71 | 0 | 849 | .900 |
| 2025-26 so far | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Career | — | 175 | 69 | 71 | 12 | 447 | 2.89 | 5 | 4626 | .903 |
This Season So Far
The 2025-26 season has not started. The empty row above is his, and both it and this paragraph fill in on their own from the morning after he first plays: what he has done, what it is worth against his own last season, and the run he is on when the two disagree.
Last Season
22-10-1 in 36 games, .8999 with a 2.71 average on 849 shots.
22 wins from a backup is a large number and it came on a club that scores. The save percentage is below league average and it was better than the starter’s.
The Physical Game
6-1 and 206, and small by modern standards, and the game is compact and reactive. He is quick, he challenges, and he plays with a great deal of energy.
The weakness is a scramble and a screened shot — he does not cover a net by occupying it, and the rebound control is ordinary. He is at his best in a run of games and noticeably worse cold, which for a man asked to play 35 a season is awkward.
The Mental Game
Thirteen professional seasons, seven organisations, hundreds of American League games, and a genuine playoff run at 32 that nobody expected.
He is unflappable in the way that only a goaltender who has been sent down five times can be, and there is no record of a bad night carrying forward.
The Intangibles
At 33, on a modest contract, having been the more reliable of Edmonton’s two goaltenders for two seasons running.
That is the uncomfortable fact rather than a compliment. A club with this much invested in its forwards has spent two Cup finals hoping that a career backup and an inconsistent starter would be enough, and the answer has been no twice.