The Oilers’ Early-Season Mistake That Cost Stuart Skinner His Job

I took a look at a recent article in The Hockey News about the collateral damage inflicted on Stuart Skinner in Pittsburgh. It got me thinking that Skinner’s early struggles with the Penguins have been easy fuel for critics eager to declare the Edmonton Oilers the clear winners of their recent goalie swap. But that surface-level takeaway ignores the bigger picture. Skinner didn’t necessarily fail in Edmonton — he fell victim to an Oilers team that once again sleepwalked through the first two months of the NHL season.

That slow start probably cost him his job.

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Since being traded to the Penguins, Skinner’s numbers have cratered. In three starts, he’s posted save percentages of .862 against Toronto, .850 versus Montreal, and an ugly .773 against his former Oilers teammates. On paper, it looks like confirmation that Edmonton moved on from the right goalie at the right time.

In reality, Edmonton changed goalies for the sake of change — not because Skinner suddenly forgot how to play the position. This is the same netminder who outplayed Jake Oettinger in a series against the Dallas Stars. Frankly, he’d played better than several top-quality goaltenders when it mattered.

The Oilers were disjointed and inconsistent through October and November. Defensive coverage was loose, backchecking was optional, and team buy-in came and went. That environment is poison for any goalie, especially one asked to be steady while the skaters in front of him aren’t locked in. Edmonton didn’t defend hard enough early to protect Skinner’s confidence or his numbers, and when the pressure mounted, management pulled the ripcord.

Fast forward a few weeks, and the irony is glaring. The Oilers are now playing structured, playoff-style hockey. Unfortunately for Skinner, that buy-in arrived after he was already gone.

Now, Tristan Jarry and Connor Ingram get to enjoy the benefits.

The New Guys (Ingram and Jarry) Get the Benefit Of a Better Oilers Team

Jarry and Ingram won’t need to steal games nightly. They’ll play behind a defense that’s more engaged, more disciplined, and far more prepared for postseason hockey than the version Skinner dealt with earlier this season. That matters. A lot.

Meanwhile, Skinner lands in Pittsburgh — a team bleeding chances, sliding in the standings, and unlikely to provide the defensive structure he needs to stabilize his game before free agency. Twelve goals against in three games isn’t just a stat line; it’s the reality of goaltending behind a team that isn’t built to protect its netminder.

Skinner didn’t suddenly become a bad goalie. The Oilers simply woke up too late to save him. They did this several seasons in a row, all of which hampered Skinner’s reputation over several seasons as a young goaltender trying to cement himself as an NHL starter, then thrown into the playoffs at just 23 years old.

Next: Oilers Reading Between the Lines as a Big 3C Target Emerges