Confirmed with Link: Jeff Skinner, $3M x 1 year

[Oilhawks]

Speed is important, but offensive instincts are even more important to be able to participate in rush opportunities. That's why Nuge is rarely seen on rushes, even when playing with McDavid. Eberle has always been a regular at contributing on rushes without great speed. I lost where I saw rush stats for Skinner, but he has been prolific on rushes in his career and still has been recently.



lots of rush goals in this season. Heads up, keeps finding ways to make himself available on the rush, good finishing. That's only goals, had 47 assists too that year. Was 14th among forwards in the NHL for ES points in 22-23.

here is a 2022 stats card for Skinner

lol, he is almost all rush offense here. I think he can still surprise. We haven't had a winger like this for a while. Probably not since Eberle.

I’m sure some will scoff at this but I could see Skinner scoring 40 here, quite easily

 

[OilerTyler]

I’m sure some will scoff at this but I could see Skinner scoring 40 here, quite easily

I think he would have to replace Nuge on the top PP unit for that to be possible

 

[Oilhawks]

I think he would have to replace Nuge on the top PP unit for that to be possible

Probably. But as good as Nuge is on the PP (arguably the most / second most important part), they should probably give Skinner some reps in PP1 when things are looking stale.

 

[McDNicks17]

It'll be interesting. If they want to get him reps on the PP, I'd say Drai's spot is the obvious one for him.

I'm not sure he'd do all that well in RNH's spot.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

Probably. But as good as Nuge is on the PP (arguably the most / second most important part), they should probably give Skinner some reps in PP1 when things are looking stale.

Maybe it ends up as situation like they used to do with Kane/Hyman as the net front. You rotate Nuge for Skinner, Skinner for Nuge depending on what PK team is doing or if one set hasn't worked.

 

[TheNumber4]

I’m sure some will scoff at this but I could see Skinner scoring 40 here, quite easily

Same. Skinner is gonna FEAST in this top 6.

 

[Canovin]

With Skinner and Arvidsson on the team. I can see the 2nd PP unit playing longer than 10 secs each PP

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

With Skinner and Arvidsson on the team. I can see the 2nd PP unit playing longer than 10 secs each PP

Maybe rotate McDavid and Draisaitl as center on PP2 lol.

 

[oobga]

It'll be interesting. If they want to get him reps on the PP, I'd say Drai's spot is the obvious one for him.

I'm not sure he'd do all that well in RNH's spot.

Skinner seems to have never been a prolific PP guy. He might be the complete opposite of a player like Nuge. Thrives on chaos like being on the rush, but isn't good when things are slow and the defense is setup and in position. Nuge can't handle chaos and was dump and chasing on the rush to the bitter end all the way to game 7 of the finals. But when he has lots of time and space like on the PP he can make good plays.

 

[McShogun99]

Maybe rotate McDavid and Draisaitl as center on PP2 lol.

I think you keep McDrai and Bouchard for as close to 2 minutes as possible and swap out RNH-Hyman for Arvidsson-Skinner after a minute or so.

 

[Jimmi McJenkins]

I think you keep McDrai and Bouchard for as close to 2 minutes as possible and swap out RNH-Hyman for Arvidsson-Skinner after a minute or so.

That's, sincerely, not a bad idea

 

[mjd1001]

-When Brindamour took over Carolina, one of the first order of business was to ship Skinner out. for a mid-level prospect and some non-first round picks.

-Skinners first year in Buffalo he put up 40 goals (but only 23 assists) playing with Jack Eichel under Phil Housley as coach. Housley was fired.

-Ralph Krueger took over as coach and disliked Skinner's play so much he was benched often or played on the 4th line.

-Krueger was fired and Don Granato took over. Skinner was back to the 25-30 goal seasons under Granato.

-Granato fired and it appears Lindy Ruff is having serious roster input in Buffalo and without even coaching him one game, he's bought out.

Housely and Granato as coaches, and Skinner Thrived

Brindamour, Ruff, and Krueger didn't even want him to take the ice for them.

How is he going to react to coaching here?

 

[Mr Positive]

-When Brindamour took over Carolina, one of the first order of business was to ship Skinner out. for a mid-level prospect and some non-first round picks.

-Skinners first year in Buffalo he put up 40 goals (but only 23 assists) playing with Jack Eichel under Phil Housley as coach. Housley was fired.

-Ralph Krueger took over as coach and disliked Skinner's play so much he was benched often or played on the 4th line.

-Krueger was fired and Don Granato took over. Skinner was back to the 25-30 goal seasons under Granato.

-Granato fired and it appears Lindy Ruff is having serious roster input in Buffalo and without even coaching him one game, he's bought out.

Housely and Granato as coaches, and Skinner Thrived

Brindamour, Ruff, and Krueger didn't even want him to take the ice for them.

How is he going to react to coaching here?

Coaching is going to be the least of Skinner's problems if he dogs it here or bails on defense. McDavid will chew him out if that happens

 

[mjd1001]

Coaching is going to be the least of Skinner's problems if he dogs it here or bails on defense. McDavid will chew him out if that happens

Its why I think how he does as an Oiler will be one of the most interesting regular season stories to follow.

As other have said, Skinner scores goals really only 2 ways...knocking in garbage around the crease, and on the rush. His one timer doesn't exist, he doesn't excel taking shots off an organized PP or offensive zone cycle. Its off the rush or garbage truck.

With that said, can he keep up with McDavid or half of the other forwards? I think the reason he doesn't go deep into the defensive zone is he needs to already 'cheat' a bit to join the rush because he is so slow. And when I say he is slow, he's not average, or a little below average, he is SLOW, like one of the league's slowest straight line skaters.

If he cheats on defense hanging around the blue line, will he get chewed out for not helping in the D-zone? If he does go deep into the D-zone, he literally may not be able to keep up with the rush back the other way.

Like I said, its going to be interesting to watch.

 

[Oilhawks]

Its why I think how he does as an Oiler will be one of the most interesting regular season stories to follow.

As other have said, Skinner scores goals really only 2 ways...knocking in garbage around the crease, and on the rush. His one timer doesn't exist, he doesn't excel taking shots off an organized PP or offensive zone cycle. Its off the rush or garbage truck.

With that said, can he keep up with McDavid or half of the other forwards? I think the reason he doesn't go deep into the defensive zone is he needs to already 'cheat' a bit to join the rush because he is so slow. And when I say he is slow, he's not average, or a little below average, he is SLOW, like one of the league's slowest straight line skaters.

If he cheats on defense hanging around the blue line, will he get chewed out for not helping in the D-zone? If he does go deep into the D-zone, he literally may not be able to keep up with the rush back the other way.

Like I said, its going to be interesting to watch.

He absolutely won’t have to “keep up” with McDavid to score. Skinner wouldn’t be the first player without quick North-South skating to excel with McDavid. Ex: Maroon

 

[Senor Catface]

Its why I think how he does as an Oiler will be one of the most interesting regular season stories to follow.

As other have said, Skinner scores goals really only 2 ways...knocking in garbage around the crease, and on the rush. His one timer doesn't exist, he doesn't excel taking shots off an organized PP or offensive zone cycle. Its off the rush or garbage truck.

With that said, can he keep up with McDavid or half of the other forwards? I think the reason he doesn't go deep into the defensive zone is he needs to already 'cheat' a bit to join the rush because he is so slow. And when I say he is slow, he's not average, or a little below average, he is SLOW, like one of the league's slowest straight line skaters.

If he cheats on defense hanging around the blue line, will he get chewed out for not helping in the D-zone? If he does go deep into the D-zone, he literally may not be able to keep up with the rush back the other way.

Like I said, its going to be interesting to watch.

I wouldn't call it knocking in garbage. He scores a lot of goals in close, but those are goals a lot of guys can't do. It's pinpoint, in close snipes.

 

[Soundwave]

Its why I think how he does as an Oiler will be one of the most interesting regular season stories to follow.

As other have said, Skinner scores goals really only 2 ways...knocking in garbage around the crease, and on the rush. His one timer doesn't exist, he doesn't excel taking shots off an organized PP or offensive zone cycle. Its off the rush or garbage truck.

With that said, can he keep up with McDavid or half of the other forwards? I think the reason he doesn't go deep into the defensive zone is he needs to already 'cheat' a bit to join the rush because he is so slow. And when I say he is slow, he's not average, or a little below average, he is SLOW, like one of the league's slowest straight line skaters.

If he cheats on defense hanging around the blue line, will he get chewed out for not helping in the D-zone? If he does go deep into the D-zone, he literally may not be able to keep up with the rush back the other way.

Like I said, its going to be interesting to watch.

Zack Hyman scored like 50 goals doing basically only that, lol.

I wouldn't call it knocking in garbage. He scores a lot of goals in close, but those are goals a lot of guys can't do. It's pinpoint, in close snipes.

Yeah there's a skill in being able to go top shelf and beat NHL level goalies with very little time and space down low.

We sorely lack a player that can do that.

 

[OfCorsiDid]

So does this mean that Stu's namebar becomes S. Skinner and Jeff will be J. Skinner?

Really rare to have guys on the same team with the same last name. The fact that it's happened twice on the Oilers in under 15 years is truly weird.

 

[McFlyingV]

Its why I think how he does as an Oiler will be one of the most interesting regular season stories to follow.

As other have said, Skinner scores goals really only 2 ways...knocking in garbage around the crease, and on the rush. His one timer doesn't exist, he doesn't excel taking shots off an organized PP or offensive zone cycle. Its off the rush or garbage truck.

With that said, can he keep up with McDavid or half of the other forwards? I think the reason he doesn't go deep into the defensive zone is he needs to already 'cheat' a bit to join the rush because he is so slow. And when I say he is slow, he's not average, or a little below average, he is SLOW, like one of the league's slowest straight line skaters.

If he cheats on defense hanging around the blue line, will he get chewed out for not helping in the D-zone? If he does go deep into the D-zone, he literally may not be able to keep up with the rush back the other way.

Like I said, its going to be interesting to watch.

Huh? He scores plenty of one-timer goals and he scores plenty of goals off the cycle/offensive zone turnovers.

 

[McFlyingV]

So does this mean that Stu's namebar becomes S. Skinner and Jeff will be J. Skinner?

Really rare to have guys on the same team with the same last name. The fact that it's happened twice on the Oilers in under 15 years is truly weird.

Probably not because one's a goalie.

 

[sportsdynasty]

With Skinner and Arvidsson on the team. I can see the 2nd PP unit playing longer than 10 secs each PP

And Henrique on second PP.

 

[McFlyingV]

Zack Hyman scored like 50 goals doing basically only that, lol.



Yeah there's a skill in being able to go top shelf and beat NHL level goalies with very little time and space down low.

We sorely lack a player that can do that.

Skinner's biggest strength in the slot aside from his accurate shot that he can elevate in close with very little space is his lateral speed and edge work. You'll routinely see him take a pass around the net and in one motion open up his skate blades and either open up room to wrap the puck around the goalie or create a much better shooting angle for himself. That as much as his shot is a big reason why he scores so often in the slot. He's also the king at picking short side top corner.

 

[Tobias Kahun]

Probably not because one's a goalie.

It might screw up the lesser knowledgeable fan bases like the canucks though.

 

[Oilhawks]

Skinner's biggest strength in the slot aside from his accurate shot that he can elevate in close with very little space is his lateral speed and edge work. You'll routinely see him take a pass around the net and in one motion open up his skate blades and either open up room to wrap the puck around the goalie or create a much better shooting angle for himself. That as much as his shot is a big reason why he scores so often in the slot. He's also the king at picking short side top corner.

Would have been so awesome to have vs Bobrovsky

 

[McFlyingV]

Would have been so awesome to have vs Bobrovsky

Yup he's a guy who knows how to elevate it. I saw more than a couple snipes on Bob in his highlights. First 2 goals at the time stamp.