Montreal One of Two Canadian Teams Insider Links to Stuart Skinner

As well as he’s played and seemed to fit in Pittsburgh, it’s starting to sound increasingly likely that the Penguins will still look to flip Stuart Skinner before the March 6 trade deadline. GM Kyle Dubas isn’t going to overreact to his team’s surprising success this season, and he demonstrated that by dealing Brett Kulak—the other piece in the return for Tristan Jarry—to Colorado for Samuel Girard and a second-round pick earlier this week.

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Now that the word is out and Skinner appears to be available, many around the league have begun speculating on potential landing spots. And on Thursday, it was insider Frank Seravalli who threw out three teams he believes make the most sense: the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Carolina Hurricanes.

Seravalli said:

“The thought process was, is Stuart Skinner going to be the guy for the long haul? And it doesn’t appear that that’s the case… I think there’s a bunch of teams that were saying, if the price is right and if there are no strings attached, then yeah, maybe we could be a team that is interested in upgrading our goaltending position. One of those teams, I think, is the Montreal Canadiens. But there’s another team I looked at—we just talked about the Ottawa Senators and how their goaltending has been poor—maybe if you put a guy in tandem with Linus Ullmark, the Sens make sense. And then maybe the other part would be, what about the Carolina Hurricanes?”

The 27-year-old Skinner is, of course, a pending UFA in the third and final year of the three-year, $7.8 million extension originally signed with the Oilers in 2022. Across 36 starts split between Edmonton and Pittsburgh this season, he’s gone 19-12-5, posting a 2.79 goals-against average, an .890 save percentage, and two shutouts along the way.

Stuart Skinner Landing Spots

It’s been a whirlwind year for Skinner, and being moved for the second time in three months will only add to that.

All three teams Seravalli mentioned make sense, though Montreal is by far the most desperate for a goalie, and a veteran with proven playoff experience like Skinner would be ideal. Not to mention, the acquisition cost for a rental shouldn’t be too high, and the Canadiens wouldn’t be committing beyond 2025–26, keeping the door open for Jacob Fowler and Jakub Dobes moving forward.

Ottawa and Carolina are also plausible, though when Linus Ullmark is healthy, the need for Skinner isn’t as pressing. Meanwhile, the Hurricanes—while always looking for depth in the crease—have Brandon Bussi and Frederik Andersen as viable options

Other suitors could emerge, but as of now, the Canadiens feel like the frontrunners to land a goalie in the coming week, and Skinner might be the best and most realistic target.

Next: With Ottawa on Edge, Analyst Includes Brady Tkachuk on Trade Board