Kings Claim Troy Grosenick From Oilers

Please recall Troy Grosenick.

Grosenick was claimed from the Kings on January 16th after the Anton Forsberg Saga™. Because of the current state of affairs in the world, Grosenick had to quarantine two weeks after he found out that the Oilers would not pick up Aaron Dell, who went on waivers from Toronto the next day.

Grosenick made it to Edmonton and was game ready nearly two weeks later. I thought for sure that he’d get into a game, especially after Mikko Koskinen ended up playing ten straight. Grosenick never made it into a game, the club opted to run Stuart Skinner for the first Ottawa game on Sunday.

With news that Mike Smith is ready to come off of LTIR, I thought for sure that the Oilers would keep Grosenick on the main roster so that they wouldn’t have to go through this sort of goaltender frenzy again. I was wrong, as Grosenick was waived yesterday and subsequently picked up by LA today.

Grosenick’s departure will ensure that Stuart Skinner will remain the third goaltender for now. You can make the argument that the difference between Skinner and Grosenick isn’t much (I’d argue against this), but I think the Oilers are running an unnecessary risk in goal again. If Koskinen and Smith remain healthy, that’s the optimal solution given this set of goaltenders. We haven’t seen Mike Smith play a game yet this season, and everything could go sideways again if he sustains another injury. Add the extra hurdle of a two-week quarantine after claiming a US-based goaltender, and this seems like a headache that ought to have been avoided.