The Edmonton Oilers have had a fairly straightforward relationship with goalie Stuart Skinner: they’ve asked a lot of him, and in large amounts, he’s delivered. 

While former goalie Devan Dubnyk recently said Skinner is under a massive microscope in Edmonton, he does look solid in stretches. And it’s the frequency with which Skinner stumbles that’s the reason why so many expect and-or hope that the Oilers will make a change in net via the trade market.

A trade addition addressing Edmonton’s goaltending might work out in the Oilers’ favor, but while consistency isn’t Skinner’s forte, he does do a good job of keeping the Oilers competitive.

“I don’t think he gets as much credit as he deserves,” Dubnyk said on THN.com’s Big Show. “It’s hard, because Skinner so under the magnifying glass, and everybody jumps on his mistakes and stuff. You just want him to put together some consistency.” 

As Dubnyk noted, Stuart does make mistakes. So the problem is the competitive swings he takes, between effective and subpar performances.

For instance, in five of 15 appearances this season, Skinner’s save percentage has been at .905 or higher. The problem is the other 10 games he’s played this season where Skinner’s save percentage has been at .889 or worse.  

This, then, is at the heart of the Skinner situation. He’s not at the level of a Connor Hellebuyck or Igor Shesterkin, and it’s only natural for Oilers fans to openly pine for the what-might-have-beens if only GM Stan Bowman took a different direction in net. This is what happens when you come a few games away from not only one Stanley Cup championship but multiple Cups. People are going to second-guess you until you guess right.

It’s true Skinner’s regular-season numbers have dipped from last season, just as they’d dipped the season prior to that. But Skinner did have his moments in the playoffs last season, from the end of the Vegas Golden Knights series in the second round through to the Western Conference final against the Dallas Stars. In that span, he had three shutouts and two other games in which he posted .966 and .971 save percentages.

But he wasn’t at his best in the Cup final against the Florida Panthers; his save percentage in Game 1 came through at .906, and after that, it was never higher than .881.

Thus, you can see why many expect Bowman to make a change in net via the trade market. Something different has to happen for that Oilers team to make it over the hump and into playoff glory, and it’s not like Skinner has any no-trade or no-move clause in his contract. 

Skinner is in a contract year this season, and in a different market, on a team with different expectations, Skinner may ascend to the very top of the mountain in the NHL’s post-season. But the longer his numbers are merely average to above average, the louder the calls will grow to replace him in Edmonton.

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