Jack Campbell was placed on unconditional waivers by the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday for the purpose of a buyout.
The 32-year-old goalie can become an unrestricted free agent at noon ET on Monday. He has three seasons remaining on a five-year, $25 million contract ($5 million average annual value) signed as a UFA on July 13, 2022. He was sent to Bakersfield of the American Hockey League on Nov. 8, one day after being placed on waivers, and went 18-13-1 with a 2.63 goals-against average, .918 save percentage and three shutouts in 33 games.
Campbell did not play in the NHL after Nov. 4, when he made 29 saves in a 5-2 loss to the Nashville Predators at Rogers Place in Edmonton. He was 1-4-0 with a 4.50 GAA and .873 save percentage in five games.
Edmonton was seventh in the Pacific Division (2-8-1) and had the second-fewest points in the NHL (five), ahead of only the San Jose Sharks (three), when Campbell was assigned to the AHL. Stuart Skinner reclaimed the No. 1 role and helped the Oilers reach the Stanley Cup Final, a seven-game loss to the Florida Panthers.
Selected by the Dallas Stars with the No. 11 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Campbell only played one NHL game and was still splitting time between the ECHL and AHL in his final season with the Stars before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings on June 25, 2016. He rebuilt his game and confidence over two seasons with the Kings' AHL affiliate in Ontario and worked his way back up to the NHL. He had a .928 save percentage in 31 games with Los Angeles in 2018-19 before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 5, 2020.
Campbell had a .916 save percentage over three seasons with Toronto before signing in Edmonton, but he finished with an .888 save percentage in his first season with the Oilers, losing the No. 1 job to Skinner by the end of November.
