Oilers’ goalie Frederik Andersen expects split starts under Babcock in Edmonton

New Edmonton Oilers goaltender Frederik Andersen doesn’t expect to start as many games under coach Mike Babcock as he did when they were Toronto Maple Leafs.

Anderson reunites with Babcock in Edmonton after signing a one-year contract with the Oilers on July 1, which was eight days after Babcock was announced as the NHL club’s new head coach.

Andersen started 66 games in back-to-back seasons under Babcock in Toronto in 2017 and 2018.

Fresh off a Stanley Cup win with the Carolina Hurricanes, Andersen predicts he’ll be deployed in a rotation with Tristan Jarry, and possibly the newly acquired Devon Levi.

“Speaking of my time with Babs … I think I played 66 games … a couple years in a row. Those days are probably over for me, but I’m definitely happy to be part of, I think, a good goalie rotation,” Andersen said Monday during a video media conference call.

“We can get a lot out of each other, especially with the schedule being a little bit different the last few years.

“The game has changed too as well. It makes it more demanding to play a lot of games and still perform the way you want to. However it plays out, it’s tough to predict, but I’m ready to support the other guys and play when called upon.”

The 36-year-old from Herning, Denmark, is part of the Oilers’ latest try at a goaltending formula that can win a Stanley Cup.

Edmonton lost to the Florida Panthers in the 2025 and 2024 Cup finals in six and seven games, respectively, before bowing out in the first round to Anaheim in April. The Oilers didn’t re-sign Connor Ingram, who started five of six games against the Ducks.

“Edmonton has been knocking on the door for a while now,” Andersen said. “They’ve been close. It would be awesome to be part of the team to get over the hump. They’re very serious about it.”

Anderson started 16 straight playoff games for Carolina before injuring his knee during the Cup final against the Vegas Golden Knights. Brandon Bussi finished out the final three games of the series.

Andersen’s knee required no interventions this off-season other than rest, he said.

The Oilers dealt Stuart Skinner, who logged the majority of starts in the two Cup final runs, to Pittsburgh for Jarry in December.

The latter, who enters the fourth year of a five-year contract that carries a $5.375 million cap hit, went 9-6-2 in the regular season as an Oiler and started a 4-3 overtime loss to the Ducks in Game 4.

Levi, 24, was acquired from Buffalo on July 1. His career record with the Sabres was 17-17-2.

The clock is ticking on Edmonton’s Stanley Cup aspirations. Superstar Connor McDavid’s contract expires in 2028.

He and teammate Leon Draisaitl are the bane of NHL goaltenders.

“They’ve made me and the rest of the league look silly a lot of times before in games, but now obviously it’s just going to be in practice,” Andersen said. “It’s cool to get to see that up close and see how they operate.”

A one-year contract with a base salary of US$1 million might seem below market for a proven playoff performer, although the Dane’s deal has $1.8 million in bonuses built in.

“Maybe age had something to do with that,” said Andersen, who turns 37 on Oct. 2. “That’s how it went. This was an opportunity I could go to Edmonton. I think the deal is structured in a way that’s going to help the team have some flexibility in terms of the bonuses they can put forward to next year.”

Andersen, who is six feet four and 229 pounds, owns a career record of 324-149-58, 28 shutouts, a 2.59 goals-against average and .913 save percentage over 13 NHL seasons with Anaheim, Toronto and Carolina.

In 101 playoff starts, he’s 59-37 with eight shutouts, a 2.32 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.

Babcock coached Anderson in Toronto for just over three seasons until the Maple Leafs fired Babcock on Nov. 20, 2019.

That was Babcock’s last NHL coaching gig before the Oilers named him the team’s sixth new head coach in the last 11 years.

The Columbus Blue Jackets hired Babcock in 2023, but he resigned without coaching a game after he’d asked players during one-on-one meetings to view photos on their personal phones as a way of getting to know them.

“My experience is good,” Andersen said. “As a goalie, you don’t deal with the head coach as much. He kind of leaves you alone with the goalie coach to do your thing.

“He’s a great coach. Great X’s and O’s. Got a lot out of our group. We were a young team then. Excited to see what we can do together in this new opportunity.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 6, 2026.

Donna Spencer, The Canadian Press