Stuart Skinner’s time with the Edmonton Oilers was filled with epic highs and lows.
The highs included back-to-back trips to the Stanley Cup Final, a spot the 2023 All-Star Game and being the starter on an Oilers squad led by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl.
The lows include coming up empty-handed in the Finals both years to the Florida Panthers and getting benched in critical moments.
Now, Skinner has the chance for a fresh start. Traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins along with defenceman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick in exchange for goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin on Friday, Skinner has the opportunity to regain his form after a tough start to this season.
“It’s not so much a comment on Stuart Skinner, it’s just really maybe time for something different here,” Oilers general manager Stan Bowman said on Friday after the trade.
While Skinner had improved as of late, going 2-1-1 in the month of December and fresh off a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday, he has had his struggles.
Skinner allowed three or more goals in 15 of the 23 games he’s appeared in this season. He has an 11-8-4 record with an .891 save percentage and 2.83 goals-against average.
His best regular season as an Oiler came in 2022-23. Skinner took over the starting job with Jack Campbell struggling. He was voted in as one of the final three players to the All-Star Game and after finishing the season with a 29-14-5 record, a .914 save percentage and a 2.75 GAA, he was one of three nominees for the Calder Trophy.
During the 2024 postseason, Skinner went 14-9 with a 2.45 GAA and .901 save percentage as the Oilers lost in Game 7 of the Final.
It was the 2025 playoff run that encapsulated the highs and lows of Skinner’s career in Edmonton.
Skinner struggled in the first two games of the opening round against the Los Angeles Kings as the Oilers went down 2-0. The team switched to backup Calvin Pickard in Game 3, who backstopped them to a 7-4 win. Pickard would go on to win six straight starts before getting hurt in Game 2 of the second round against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Skinner came back in and shone, leading the Oilers past Vegas in five games and eliminating the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Finals for a second straight year.
However, his struggles returned in the Finals against the Panthers. In Game 3, Skinner allowed five goals on 23 shots and was pulled in favour of Pickard.
He was then benched again after Game 4 when he allowed three goals in the first period. Pickard came in and stopped 22 shots in a 5-4 overtime win for Edmonton.
The Oilers would go on to lose the series in six games.
Skinner is in the final season of a three-year, $7.8 million contract with an AAV of $2.6 million. Meanwhile, Jarry is signed for two more seasons after this year with a cap hit of $5.38 million.
Bowman said the team hadn’t had any contract extension talks with Skinner this season.
“No, we didn’t have any negotiations yet with Stu,” said Bowman. “It was something we were going to assess as the year went on. I think that’s one of the things that was attractive about this deal was not only that Tristan is signed, but he’s signed at, in today’s marketplace and where the cap is, a very manageable cap number.”
