Player Discussion Stuart Skinner

[McJadeddog]

Skinner isn’t the answer. Perfectly fine backup, but he just isn’t a starter at this point. You can’t be giving up more than a goal above expected every time you play a decent team. Just simply unacceptable. The oilers are up 2-1 going into the second period last night with literally any WHL goalie in net. That is how bad skinner played, and yet there are still people making excuses for him. It’s crazy

 

[Zguy370]

Since Jan 15
Not my fault Skinner is 3w 5L
.890 and 3 GAA

Pickard is 4w 1L
.918 and 2.5GAA

And Skinner crapped the bed last night but Pickard awarded with that loss

 

[Messrules11]

I can’t imagine a scenario where any of the other 31 teams in the league say “let’s trade for Skinner, he’s better than anyone in our organization.”
He’s easily the worst starter in the league and we’re going to try to win a cup with him, well, we won’t win a cup with him.

 

[VeteranPresence]

I can’t imagine a scenario where any of the other 31 teams in the league say “let’s trade for Skinner, he’s better than anyone in our organization.”

No, but, to a very VERY small group of bubble or rebuilding teams, Stu could hold intrigue because of his age and possible untapped potential. He also holds a second year which is a good safety net for a couple teams that maybe have uncertainty at the position themselves.

They are, to me:

Utah- Karl Vejmelka is a pending UFA. If UHC don’t think he is going to re-sign, flipping him for a young goalie with term plus another asset or two is a decent gamble on their part. Armstrong can then use 2025-26 to decide which of Stu, Connor Ingram, and Jaxson Stauber should be signed long-term.

Anaheim- Wasting Gibson’s remaining years and recovered value seems unwise, so getting a package back that includes a goalie who fits the age range of their core makes sense. Skinner then becomes the backup behind Dostal, a much better fit.

Buffalo- IF they choose to make UPL available in favour of Levi, I can again seeing Stu being part of the return the Sabres would want- even as a temporary stopgap. If Levi were to struggle, they know Skinner can play 50 games.

 

[Messrules11]

No, but, to a very VERY small group of bubble or rebuilding teams, Stu could hold intrigue because of his age and possible untapped potential. He also holds a second year which is a good safety net for a couple teams that maybe have uncertainty at the position themselves.

They are, to me:

Utah- Karl Vejmelka is a pending UFA. If UHC don’t think he is going to re-sign, flipping him for a young goalie with term plus another asset or two is a decent gamble on their part. Armstrong can then use 2025-26 to decide which of Stu, Connor Ingram, and Jaxson Stauber should be signed long-term.

Anaheim- Wasting Gibson’s remaining years and recovered value seems unwise, so getting a package back that includes a goalie who fits the age range of their core makes sense. Skinner then becomes the backup behind Dostal, a much better fit.

Buffalo- IF they choose to make UPL available in favour of Levi, I can again seeing Stu being part of the return the Sabres would want- even as a temporary stopgap. If Levi were to struggle, they know Skinner can play 50 games.

Again, all I see are contractual issues, he’s not better on the ice.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

The Oilers are lucky that no other playoff teams are really looking for a goalie.

Maybe CAR and Vegas, but beyond them I can't see anyone buying. Which means prices should stay reasonable.

 

[Sethual]

Only reason we keep him is cap reasons. We don't have over 9+ million tucked away in long or short dumb contracts signed because "the market was so and so then" well then the market was rigged from the start and we RFA'd the wrong people and TOO LATE. Now we are stuck with Skinner and this mess. McDavid can tell everyone to dig in but that doesn't seem to inspire anyone. Oilers need cap relief for sure.

 

[GrumpyKoala]

Stuart Skinner is that old zenith super heavy cathodic 85 inch tv that sit and take up 89% of your basement.

The color all dull and it have a tendency to mad flicker at the wrong time. You want to enjoy the game tonight? Maybe you will maybe you won't.

You could get a replacement but realistically speaking it's not moving, too heavy, too troublesome.

So here we are again trying to convince ourselves that it's not THAT bad....



Forgive me father for I have Skinner.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

In the early 2000's the Vancouver Canucks were an absolute powerhouse of a team lead by 2 of the top forwards in the league M.Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi, who made up the dreaded "West Coast Express" line.

Top-5 scorers for a few years:

They had incredible depth, a 2nd line made up of the Sedins, and solid depth throughout the entire lineup.

Big heavy defensive team, with forwards who could power through the DPE, and a physical defense lead by Ohlund S.Salo, and Jovonovsky,

They were an elite team, and hung around the big-boys in Colorado and Detroit.

What that team lacked was goaltending, and everyone knew it.

Even when Dan Cloutier put up respectable numbers, everyone saw him technically weak.
He went down too early, he didn't cover up top particularly well. Lateral movement.


And just like Skinner, every breakaway goes in, every 2:1 goes in. Completely incapable of making a big save, and that was a death sentence for the team in the playoffs.

Where did Cloutier sit in the league standings?

Higher than Skinner usually is:

I know Stu is a great guy, a hometown boy, and all that other wonderful shit off-the ice.



But on the ice, he is Dan Cloutier, and he will ensure this team does not win a cup.

 

[CanadasTeam99]

Stuart Skinner is that old zenith super heavy cathodic 85 inch tv that sit and take up 89% of your basement.

The color all dull and it have a tendency to mad flicker at the wrong time. You want to enjoy the game tonight? Maybe you will maybe you won't.

You could get a replacement but realistically speaking it's not moving, too heavy, too troublesome.

So here we are again trying to convince ourselves that it's not THAT bad....



Forgive me father for I have Skinner.

lol We had a Massive Zenith. I remember the remote control had a zoom button it.

 

[CanadasTeam99]

In the early 2000's the Vancouver Canucks were an absolute powerhouse of a team lead by 2 of the top forwards in the league M.Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi, who made up the dreaded "West Coast Express" line.

Top-5 scorers for a few years:
View attachment 975883View attachment 975882

They had incredible depth, a 2nd line made up of the Sedins, and solid depth throughout the entire lineup.

Big heavy defensive team, with forwards who could power through the DPE, and a physical defense lead by Ohlund S.Salo, and Jovonovsky,

They were an elite team, and hung around the big-boys in Colorado and Detroit.
View attachment 975872
What that team lacked was goaltending, and everyone knew it.

Even when Dan Cloutier put up respectable numbers, everyone saw him technically weak.
He went down too early, he didn't cover up top particularly well. Lateral movement.


And just like Skinner, every breakaway goes in, every 2:1 goes in. Completely incapable of making a big save, and that was a death sentence for the team in the playoffs.

Where did Cloutier sit in the league standings?

Higher than Skinner usually is:
View attachment 975873

I know Stu is a great guy, a hometown boy, and all that other wonderful shit off-the ice.



But on the ice, he is Dan Cloutier, and he will ensure this team does not win a cup.

Great comparison. We are Dan Cloutier'ing our team right now

It was short lived, but those few WCE years were terrifying

 

[bucks_oil]

Where did Cloutier sit in the league standings?

Higher than Skinner usually is:
View attachment 975873

Look, I appreciate the comparison, I think it is a useful one. I do wish we could upgrade on Skinner...

... but I don't think hyperbole is particularly useful for the debate.

If you look at 2001/02 to 2003/04... the years Cloutier was starter for Vancouver, and you filter by 100 games played (to get the guys who actually played starter roles), you are right... you end up with 33 goalies and Cloutier is in 21st place... but you also end up with Aebicher in 1st place (above Roy), so be careful...

If you do the same comparison over the last three seasons, this is what you get:

NHL Stats

The official source for NHL Stats including skaters, goalies, teams stats and more.

www.nhl.com

There are 32 goalies on the list. Skinner is 13th (pretty average). There are TWO cup winners above him on the list and THREE cup winners below him on the list, and one cup winner (the guy he lost to by one goal) tied with him.

And the guy most of us want to trade for (including me if I'm honest) is SECOND LAST on the list.

My point #1: Nobody is saying shooting for "pretty average" is what we should be doing.... but there are no easy solutions and Skinner is not a difference maker... I mean that in both a positive and a negative sense.

My point #2: The fact that there are FOUR cup winners at or below Skinner's level also proves what we already know... that consistent goaltending is tough to find. Now Skinner is struggling statistically this year (or at least at the start of the year, which hasn't washed out of the numbers yet). Having said that, what we get in Skinner is generally "consistently average".

My point #3: What having an "about average" starter at a "well below average" salary allows us, is to build a team with THE STRONGEST set of forwards and arguably near the strongest set of D... and bank cap... which we have done. Now hopefully we manage to spend some of that cap on an insurance policy for Skinner - I agree that we need that.