Edmonton Oilers
Most Shafted Oiler in Recent Memory Leaves NHL, Signs With Swiss League Club
Former Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner is leaving the NHL, joining a Swiss League team for the 2026-27 season.
Former Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner didn’t have the easiest time in Edmonton. He was relatively productive given the lack of ice time and opportunity he got under then-head coach Kris Knoblauch, but it was clear, even in 2024-25, that Skinner’s career was winding down. Fast forward a couple of seasons, and it appears he’s done in the NHL.
The EHC Biel announced the signing of Skinner on Friday, noting he’s inked a one-year contract until the end of April 2027.
The 34-year-old unrestricted free agent terminated his Sharks contract in February and was unable to find a new NHL home. This came just one season after his short run with the Oilers, in which he did everything asked of him, but still couldn’t get a fair shake. Skinner was signed as part of a busy summer in free agency ahead of the 2024-25 season. He was seen as a goal scorer who could play in Edmonton’s top six, but every time he got a slight opportunity to produce, it was taken away.
Even when Skinner came in and scored, he found himself in the press box the next game. His usage had no flow, and while he was the consummate professional, it must have been frustrating, given what the Oilers intended when they signed him. At one point, when Knoblauch was asked what Skinner needed to do, the response was “play better hockey.” It was a wildly inaccurate assessment of what Skinner was bringing, even if he wasn’t scoring at a 30-goal pace.
Skinner chose the Oilers, hoping that he’d finally get a chance to play on a playoff team. He was right, but he barely got a look when the team got in as a favorite that season.
He finishes with 379 goals and 712 points in 1,110 games. 16 goals and 29 points came in 72 games with the Oilers. His best seasons were as a member of the Buffalo Sabres, where he spent six seasons but never made the playoffs.
He’ll be remembered as a smooth skater with an ability to score goals. But as time catches up and the game gets faster, it seems teams aren’t ready to invest time and money in someone whose production has steadily declined. Unfortunately, in Edmonton, he’ll also be remembered as part of the reason the Oilers lost Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. It certainly wasn’t his fault, but his contract helped create a salary cap crunch that the St. Louis Blues took advantage of.
He may go down as one of the league’s better scorers who played the fewest playoff games. It’s quite the stat to have played 16 seasons in the NHL and made the playoffs only once. Even when he got in as part of the Oilers, they used him just five times during their run to the Stanley Cup Final.
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