Rumor: Rumors & Proposals Thread | The Oilers Biggest Roster Need Is?

[TopShelfGloveSide]

No, it's not. But if he crumbled then either we lost that series or Dallas steamrolled him.

It's disingenuous.


Is .914 sv% good?

Well I’m talking about the Canucks series which he crumbled in.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Well I’m talking about the Canucks series which he crumbled in.

But again, if he did then surely we lost the series. He had a rough start, got benched for a couple games then recovered.

 

[OilerTyler]

Is .914 sv% good?

In 2024, yes. The league average is around .900 if I recall correctly and Skinner was playing three of the top offensive teams in the league exclusively during that stretch.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

In 2024, yes. The league average is around .900 if I recall correctly and Skinner was playing three of the top offensive teams in the league exclusively during that stretch.

Oh I know, it's just everyone keeps pointing to his sv% which includes a bad Vancouver series. After he was benched he was quite good.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

But again, if he did then surely we lost the series. He had a rough start, got benched for a couple games then recovered.

Ya and got bailed out by the team. He imploded and the team won the series despite him. He was historically bad that series. That’s just facts.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Ya and got bailed out by the team. He imploded and the team won the series despite him. He was historically bad that series. That’s just facts.

But he still recovered. That's the point. A few bad games doesn't define his entire playoffs.

 

[bucks_oil]

Not sure I agree with that at all. He’s constantly out of position.

Not sure what your baseline for comparison is. All goalies get caught out of position. And Skinner is certainly not the fastest post to post... to me that's a lack of athleticism moreso than a lack of positioning.

Having said that, he read the game very well. He challenges shooters quite aggressively for a big-man. He's not typically off his angles and he's usually at the top of the blue paint. He has gaps that can be exposed on the short-side post because he over-relies on RVH, but you can say that about >60% of the goalies in the NHL.

When Skinner gets beat, it's usually because he's there but he has slow-limbs and/or broadly speaking lower-end reflexes. He's the type of goalie that if a guy makes his shot, it's in because Skinner won't catch up to it... but against Skinner you typically have to actually make your shot. He plays like a robot, all rote-rehearsal and near-zero ability to improvise.

You compare his positioning to another big goalie, Mike Smith for a stark contrast, and Skinner is night-and-day better positionally, it's not close. And Smith to his credit is night-and-day better athletically. So despite often being wildly out of position, Smith was capable of making saves Skinner can't dream of.

I disagree with the Koskinen comparison too... I think Skinner is more positionally sound, challenges shooters more because he is a better skater and mentally tougher (even at a young age). Neither have a glove hand to save their life.

In my opinion, it's really too bad that Campbell couldn't put things together. Style-wise he was a good complement to Skinner... in a way they couldn't be more opposite. One big, positionally and tactically sound, lacking athleticism. The other small, athletic and a big-save battler. Skinner could have learned a thing or two from vintange-Campbell's compete level. We never really saw much of that in Edmonton for obvious reasons.

One thing I agree with all the Skinner critics, is that we need another Skinner level goalie to push him. I personally don't see that in Pickard. I'm starting to wonder why we don't get a chance to see what Rodrigue can bring. Or just get on with it and trade for a Blackwood type.

 

[GhostfaceWu]

Okay, but we still won it. If he crumbled then we lost the series.

Yeah had nothing to do with pickard

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

But he still recovered. That's the point. A few bad games doesn't define his entire playoffs.

Did the Oilers or did the Oilers not win that series despite bad goaltending?

Im not saying it defines the entire playoffs. Im saying he imploded again the Canucks and the team bailed him out.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Did the Oilers or did the Oilers not win that series despite bad goaltending?

Im not saying it defines the entire playoffs. Im saying he imploded again the Canucks and the team bailed him out.

They did. He wasn't great vs. the Canucks. Again, he recovered and was solid the rest of the way. Why does nobody talk about how good he was vs. a much better team in Dallas?

 

[Soundwave]

Wait, when did he crumble last year? Was it the Canucks series? Because I seem to remember us winning that one.

We won despite him. We also almost beat the Carolina Hurricanes the in the 2006 Cup Final with Jussi Markkanen and handicapped a 0-1 start ... that doesn't mean Markkanen was a starter.

Skinner has 1/3 good regular seasons under his belt and that was a year he could do nothing wrong because Campbell was crapping the bed quite probably dealing with a substance abuse issue (from what we know now).

This is now the 2nd poor start for him in as many years.

Playoffs, he's been mediocre.

 

[Shanahanigans]

The only thing that matters to me about Skinner's playoff performance is Reinhart's 2-1 goal in game 7 going under his glove. I don't care about the other series because we won, but that goal will haunt me. It was an even game that was decided by 1 goaltending mistake.

 

[Spawn]

They did. He wasn't great vs. the Canucks. Again, he recovered and was solid the rest of the way. Why does nobody talk about how good he was vs. a much better team in Dallas?

“He wasn’t great vs the Canucks” is the understatement of the century. He blew that series and then when Pickard came in and saved his ass, he tried as best as he could to blow game 7 as well in the dying minutes of that game.

And to be clear, people wouldn’t be as worried about his shit history as a goalie if he wasn’t repeating that shit performance every other game now.

He’s literally been a bottom 2 or 3 goalie in the NHL this year. It’s preposterous that he has defenders.

 

[belair]

If we can get Jiricek for penny on the dollar, you do it. Not moving O'Reilly, Savoie, Akey for him tho.

I'd easily move Akey for him.

 

[Soundwave]

“He wasn’t great vs the Canucks” is the understatement of the century. He blew that series and then when Pickard came in and saved his ass, he tried as best as he could to blow game 7 as well in the dying minutes of that series.

And to be clear, people wouldn’t be as worried about his shit history as a goalie if he wasn’t repeating that shit performance every other game now.

Yep, if he was going to show he had learned anything from last season (which he should have, a game 7 in a Cup Final should change a goalie) it should be showing *now*.

He's not a baby in this league anymore, the Oilers have given him all the experience in the world. He should be coming into this season ready to kick ass, take names, spending all summer getting into better shape and coming in locked in.

Instead ... we get ... whatever this shit show of a performance for the first 20+ games of the season has been where Pickard has badly outplayed him.

We're not even allowing a ton of chances against, all the defensive metrics are good.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

“He wasn’t great vs the Canucks” is the understatement of the century. He blew that series and then when Pickard came in and saved his ass, he tried as best as he could to blow game 7 as well in the dying minutes of that series.

And to be clear, people wouldn’t be as worried about his shit history as a goalie if he wasn’t repeating that shit performance every other game now.

Yeah, again, he wasn't good. Nobody is debating otherwise. But they still won the series so I couldn't really give a f*** that the Oilers almost lost the series. If he continued to suck ass then that would be a problem but he didn't for the remainder of the playoffs.

Has he been good this year? No, he hasn't. But we're not likely going to upgrade due to lack of assets and managerial stubbornness. You of all people should understand how Oilers management works.

 

[iCanada]

“He wasn’t great vs the Canucks” is the understatement of the century. He blew that series and then when Pickard came in and saved his ass, he tried as best as he could to blow game 7 as well in the dying minutes of that game.

And to be clear, people wouldn’t be as worried about his shit history as a goalie if he wasn’t repeating that shit performance every other game now.

He’s literally been a bottom 2 or 3 goalie in the NHL this year. It’s preposterous that he has defenders.

Hey man, he had a stellar .882 save percentage and only let in 2 goals on 5 shots in the third.



They weren't even good opportunities. The good opportunities didn't get to the net.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

Not sure what your baseline for comparison is. All goalies get caught out of position. And Skinner is certainly not the fastest post to post... to me that's a lack of athleticism moreso than a lack of positioning.

Having said that, he read the game very well. He challenges shooters quite aggressively for a big-man. He's not typically off his angles and he's usually at the top of the blue paint. He has gaps that can be exposed on the short-side post because he over-relies on RVH, but you can say that about >60% of the goalies in the NHL.

When Skinner gets beat, it's usually because he's there but he has slow-limbs and/or broadly speaking lower-end reflexes. He's the type of goalie that if a guy makes his shot, it's in because Skinner won't catch up to it... but against Skinner you typically have to actually make your shot. He plays like a robot, all rote-rehearsal and near-zero ability to improvise.

You compare his positioning to another big goalie, Mike Smith for a stark contrast, and Skinner is night-and-day better positionally, it's not close. And Smith to his credit is night-and-day better athletically. So despite often being wildly out of position, Smith was capable of making saves Skinner can't dream of.

I disagree with the Koskinen comparison too... I think Skinner is more positionally sound, challenges shooters more because he is a better skater and mentally tougher (even at a young age). Neither have a glove hand to save their life.

In my opinion, it's really too bad that Campbell couldn't put things together. Style-wise he was a good complement to Skinner... in a way they couldn't be more opposite. One big, positionally and tactically sound, lacking athleticism. The other small, athletic and a big-save battler. Skinner could have learned a thing or two from vintange-Campbell's compete level. We never really saw much of that in Edmonton for obvious reasons.

One thing I agree with all the Skinner critics, is that we need another Skinner level goalie to push him. I personally don't see that in Pickard. I'm starting to wonder why we don't get a chance to see what Rodrigue can bring. Or just get on with it and trade for a Blackwood type.

I see skinner constantly sliding wide of the net and constantly getting beat cleanly by shots from distance.

I don’t know if I agree with the reads the game well either. Again I get his slowness probably highlights everything but I find lots of the time we get scored on he doesn’t even move. Sometimes he’s not even looking the direction of the puck.

He’s also the worst goalie in the league at saving 2 on 1s. If he read the game well you think he would be able to anticipate those a bit better.

 

[Soundwave]

Yeah, again, he wasn't good. Nobody is debating otherwise. But they still won the series so I couldn't really give a f*** that the Oilers almost lost the series. If he continued to suck ass then that would be a problem but he didn't for the remainder of the playoffs.

Has he been good this year? No, he hasn't. But we're not likely going to upgrade due to lack of assets and managerial stubbornness. You of all people should understand how Oilers management works.

There is no coaching change/magical new system coming for Skinner this year to help him though.

His flaws are likely also being targeted more as every aspect of our team is being more heavily scouted this season, so that probably doesn't help him.

 

[KeithIsActuallyBad]

Hey man, he had a stellar .882 save percentage and only let in 2 goals on 5 shots in the third.



They weren't even good opportunities. The good opportunities didn't get to the net.

View attachment 935414

And he had a .914 sv% the rest of the way. Wow, f***ing terrible right?

 

[brentashton]

The bold has already started happening. Our GF is normalizing closer to our xGF. Unfortunately, our GA is not catching up to the xGA. Which is a knock on Skinner.

Based on expected goals and possession metrics.

To be fair to Skinner, the offense hasn't converted their xGF to GF well either. But I trust this forward group to start scoring more than I trust Skinner.

That's not really a knock on Skinner - more an inherent and implicit trust in McDrai and recognizing we have 3 top6 quality wings injured and Nuge playing line dog shit.

I’m pretty sure Staples on Stauff’s show(when Bryn G hosted) last week said that Skinner has the worst career** save percentage (all situations) as the anointed #1 goalie since McDavid joined the Oilers. I went over the goalie data on MoneyPuck since 2015 and without parsing the data, it seems to bear out, visually .

The issue isn’t forwards not scoring. It’s less than average goaltending. For it to be the worst of McD’s tenure, is surprising and disappointing.

Edit - **career in the time with Edmonton

 

[Soundwave]

Not sure what your baseline for comparison is. All goalies get caught out of position. And Skinner is certainly not the fastest post to post... to me that's a lack of athleticism moreso than a lack of positioning.

Having said that, he read the game very well. He challenges shooters quite aggressively for a big-man. He's not typically off his angles and he's usually at the top of the blue paint. He has gaps that can be exposed on the short-side post because he over-relies on RVH, but you can say that about >60% of the goalies in the NHL.

When Skinner gets beat, it's usually because he's there but he has slow-limbs and/or broadly speaking lower-end reflexes. He's the type of goalie that if a guy makes his shot, it's in because Skinner won't catch up to it... but against Skinner you typically have to actually make your shot. He plays like a robot, all rote-rehearsal and near-zero ability to improvise.

You compare his positioning to another big goalie, Mike Smith for a stark contrast, and Skinner is night-and-day better positionally, it's not close. And Smith to his credit is night-and-day better athletically. So despite often being wildly out of position, Smith was capable of making saves Skinner can't dream of.

I disagree with the Koskinen comparison too... I think Skinner is more positionally sound, challenges shooters more because he is a better skater and mentally tougher (even at a young age). Neither have a glove hand to save their life.

In my opinion, it's really too bad that Campbell couldn't put things together. Style-wise he was a good complement to Skinner... in a way they couldn't be more opposite. One big, positionally and tactically sound, lacking athleticism. The other small, athletic and a big-save battler. Skinner could have learned a thing or two from vintange-Campbell's compete level. We never really saw much of that in Edmonton for obvious reasons.

One thing I agree with all the Skinner critics, is that we need another Skinner level goalie to push him. I personally don't see that in Pickard. I'm starting to wonder why we don't get a chance to see what Rodrigue can bring. Or just get on with it and trade for a Blackwood type.

I mean this year after the first 2 games of the season where the team was sleepwalking, and this is a fair mulligan for Skinner too since it erases the Winnipeg game for him:

Pickard .915 save percentage

Skinner .890 save percentage

That should be "pushing" any goalie, this organization just loves its favorites and won't let Pickard have more starts.

 

[TopShelfGloveSide]

And he had a .914 sv% the rest of the way. Wow, f***ing terrible right?

914 in 2 playoff series. One of the worst goaltenders in playoff history the other 4. That’s nothing to parade around.

 

[Oilhawks]

Skinjob is a really good goalie if a team plays perfect hockey in front of him

Absolutely elite, lock this man up long term!

 

[Soundwave]

I think Mikko Koskinen would 100% be .900+ on this team right now. The D with Ekholm added and Knoblaugh's tighter defensive system is light years better than what was here in the Koksinen era.