The Sharks traded away the pick acquired from the Golden Knights. I am not certain we're talking downgrade here.
Let's put the brakes on the hyperbole here. Skinner isn't a shit goaltender. The Oilers need an upgrade in net. No team trades a 1st and a prospect for a lateral move in position.
I realize the trade was made just a few months ago. Will Askarov be happy playing behind Blackwood and Vanecek? He is getting a shot because Vitek is hurt but it is a worthwhile question. He wants to be a starter. This trade guarantees that.
Every team prefers a draft pick this year rather than a pick next year. Picks a year out have less value than current year draft picks. I agree that VGK and EDM are similar in terms of where they land, but why would we want to recoup a draft pick after feeling comfortably trading said draft pick?
If Skinner was a goaltender you or anyone cared about, he would be a positive asset in this trade. He is not. He is an inconsistent goalie that has not been able to get a cup aspiring team over the hump. He's less than valuable on a team without cup aspirations at the current moment.
Askarov has already said he's perfectly fine waiting for a job to open (he also just got called up by the Sharks tonight due to injury), and MG honored that commitment by signing him to a 1-way extension before he even landed in San Jose.
It's also just a really bad idea to rely on winning the cup with a 22 year old rookie goaltender so I can imagine not even Edmonton would be stoked about this, other than it's just stupid good value for them.
All of that being said, the trade does not work for the Sharks and doesn't make sense really for a team trying to rebuild with guys around Askarov's age.