It’s now official that goaltender Stuart Skinner is no longer an Edmonton Oiler.
Oilers Trade Stuart Skinner to Penguins in Deal Involving Tristan Jarry
In a move which hockey fans have been expecting for some time, those trade rumours finally came true when Skinner, who backstopped the Oilers to consecutive Stanley Cup Finals, was traded on Friday, December 12th, along with defenseman Brett Kulak and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Entry Draft to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for veteran goalie Tristan Jarry and forward Samuel Poulin.
Before the move, all sorts of rumours about Skinner going to either Pittsburgh for Jarry or the St. Louis Blues in exchange for 2019 Stanley Cup winner Jordan Binnington have been reported on social media. In what has been a madly inconsistent season for Skinner, he took a lot of criticism from fans and even had Buffalo Sabres color commentator Rob Ray poke fun at the Oilers goalie back in November during a 5-1 Oilers loss.
“I think it’s not so much a comment on Stuart Skinner, it’s just maybe time for something different here,” Oilers GM Stan Bowman said. “But I think we wanted to make sure that the person we were bringing in, we felt confident.”
Skinner, who is 27 years-old and an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, had at the time of the trade an 11-8-4 record with two shutouts along with a 2.83 GAA and .891 save percentage.
Originally drafted in 2017, 78th overall by his hometown Oilers, Skinner during his Oilers tenure ended up playing 197 games (191 starts), where he went 109-62-18 with a 2.74 GAA and a .904 save percentage. Ironically enough, after enduring loads of criticism for his inconsistent play, Skinner was 3-1-1 with a 1.61 GAA and .937 save percentage in his last five games.
During the past three playoffs, Skinner has put together a 26-22 record in 50 playoff games with a 2.88 GAA and .893 save percentage.
Despite his recent lights-out play, trading Skinner so that he could have a fresh start without the constant pressure and criticism was the right thing to do.
Oilers GM Stan Bowman extremely confident in Tristan Jarry
Following the trade, Oilers GM Stan Bowman couldn’t say enough good things about Jarry.
Jarry, who is 30 years-old, and selected by Pittsburgh 44th overall in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft, is 9-3-1 this year with a 2.66 GAA, 1 shutout and a .909 save percentage. During the first nine seasons of his career, Jarry in 307 games, has posted 161 wins along with 22 shutouts, a 2.74 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
“Tristan’s had a really consistent performance as a pro, really up until last season. That was something we looked into, and wanted to see how he started this year. We’ve watched him very closely, and we’ve been impressed with his performance over the course of his career. I think he’s shown to be a very solid goaltender. A lot of the metrics that we track, he’s been very good o those for many year, and a large sample size,” Bowman said.
Showing tremendous resiliency, Jarry has rebounded from an inconsistent 2024-25 campaign, which at one point, after losing six straight games, saw the two-time All-Star demoted in mid-January to the team’s AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. To the veteran’s credit Jarry came back a little over six weeks later and successfully bounced back by going 16-12-6 with a 3,12 GAA and .893 save percentage. the rest of the way.
“We wanted to see how he (Jarry) started the season off, and I think he’s been doing really well there in Pittsburgh,” Bowman said. “He’s a big part pf the reason their team is off to such a great start, maybe surprising some people in the Eastern Conference to be as good they’ve been.”
Did the Oilers get a legitimate number one goalie who could carry them to a Stanley Cup?
A look through hockey history shows that a team needs a legitimate number one goalie if they are to win the Stanley Cup. A great example are the current two-time Stanley Cup champions Florida Panthers who had a real horse in Sergei Bobrovsky in goal. A deeper look in time shows such teams as the Philadelphia Flyers who during their dynasty years had Hall of Famer Bernie Parent in goal while the Montreal Canadiens in their dynasty years through the 1970’s had another Hall of Famer in Ken Dryden.
Right now, the Oilers star players are in their prime. The team is in a win now mode and a look at Jarry’s playoff numbers don’t bring a lot of confidence. In eight career playoff games, Jarry has gone 2-6 with a 3.00 GAA and .891 save percentage. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas was heavily criticized in Pittsburgh when during the summer of 2023, he signed Jarry to a five-year contract worth $26.875 million dollars.
Main Image: Kevin Ng-Imagn Images
