Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers is ready to battle it out for a spot on the Oilers' roster this season, which could force the team into trading away one of its other netminders, reports the Edmonton Journal.
Drouin-Deslauriers, 24, has played 97 games in the AHL the last two years (Wilkes-Barre and Springfield) with a 2.60 average and .911 save percentage.
If he performs well, he could push Dwayne Roloson or Mathieu Garon out the door.
"He's got huge upside ... I may be a little biased, but in my eyes he was the best goalie in the American (Hockey) League last year," Kelly Buchberger, the former Springfield head coach, told the Journal. "With how young our team was, I'd say J.D. was our most valuable player. Great work ethic and great quickness. He battles, he never wants to get beat."
If Drouin-Deslauriers plays well enough to earn a roster spot, the paper suggests the Oilers might look to move Roloson.
Roloson, who turns 39 on opening night (Oct. 12), has a cap hit of $3.667 million, while Drouin-Deslauriers, 24, makes about one-seventh that amount.
