Edmonton Oilers Sign Stuart Skinner

The Edmonton Oilers have signed Stuart Skinner to a new two-year, two-way contract. The deal comes with a $750K average annual value at the NHL level. Skinner was a restricted free agent but did not qualify for salary arbitration.

For a team like the Oilers, who have several aging goalies at the NHL level, a prospect like Skinner is very important. The 22-year-old netminder had a strong season for the Bakersfield Condors in 2020-21, posting a 20-9-1 record with a .914 save percentage in 31 games. That minor league success is promising and hopefully points to a future with the Oilers down the road.

While that NHL future may not be this season, having a homegrown talent take over in net at some point would be a huge win for the Edmonton front office. Since the cap era started in 2005-06, the team has constantly cycled through veteran after veteran, while failing to really develop many of their own draft picks. Devan Dubnyk was the exception to that, but he’s been gone for years now and experienced his best years elsewhere.

With a group that includes Mike Smith, Mikko Koskinen and Alex Stalock signed for this season, there may not be much room for Skinner. But two of those goaltenders are unrestricted free agents at the end of the 2021-22 season, which could potentially open a spot for a young backup. The fact that Skinner is still waiver-exempt helps this year, but that designation will end after the upcoming season. A two-year contract opens up the chance that he could be a league-minimum option for them in 2022-23.