It's now been confirmed for Stuart Skinner and the Oilers and everything just changed
Stuart Skinner and former head coach Kris Knoblauch still hang over Edmonton's biggest flaw, and this new number should make the Oilers nervous.
Bruce Garrioch's report is simple.
The expectation is that Skinner could land a term deal worth 4 million dollars per season in free agency.
That is where the debate starts.
The Oilers may have moved on from Stuart Skinner, but this latest development is suddenly changing the conversation again.
Because if that is the market, Edmonton has to ask a hard question right away. Is Stuart Skinner really the kind of goalie you lock into for years at that price?
That feels dangerous.
Not because Skinner has no value. He does. But if the Oilers are serious about fixing the crease, this does not feel like the type of number that solves the problem.
It feels like the type of number that keeps the same argument alive.
The latest Stuart Skinner update is suddenly shaking up the Oilers conversation
That is the whole issue here.
Skinner is still tied to a lot of frustration around Edmonton because too many big moments in net still feel uncertain. And when the pressure gets highest, that doubt gets louder, not quieter.
A 4 million dollar cap hit is not backup money.
After being linked to Pittsburgh in recent rumors, there is now growing talk that Skinner could eventually find his way back to Edmonton if the market shifts.
That is a team saying it believes this goalie can hold real weight over a full season and into the playoffs. That is a much bigger statement than Edmonton should be comfortable making right now.
Especially after the way this team has kept circling the same netminding problem.
The Oilers have Connor McDavid.
They have Leon Draisaitl.
They keep talking like they are one serious fix away.
And with the Oilers still searching for stability in net, some fans are starting to wonder if this story is really over yet.
If the answer in goal is still a goalie fans do not fully trust at 4 million a year, then what really changed?
That is why this report lands hard.
Skinner at a cheaper number is one conversation. Skinner on a multi-year deal at 4 million per season is a very different one. That starts to feel like commitment, not caution.
And Stan Bowman cannot afford a soft read on this.
The Oilers do not need to reward decent stretches and hope the rest falls into place. They need to be honest about whether Skinner is the goalie who can actually settle the position or whether he is just the latest version of Edmonton trying to talk itself into enough.
That is the risk with this number.
If Skinner gets 4 million on term, some team is betting he can be more than a question mark.
For the Oilers, making that bet would feel a lot less like progress and a lot more like staying stuck.
|
YESTERDAY
MAY 23, 2026
| ||||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Josh Anderson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Nikolaj Ehlers | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Jalen Chatfield | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Phillip Danault | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Mark Jankowski | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Eric Robinson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| William Carrier | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Kaiden Guhle | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Jaccob Slavin | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Sebastian Aho | - | - | - | |
| Frederik Andersen | - | - | - | |
| Jackson Blake | - | - | - | |
| Zachary Bolduc | - | - | - | |
| Cole Caufield | - | - | - | |
| Kirby Dach | - | - | - | |
| Ivan Demidov | - | - | - | |
| Jakub Dobes | - | - | - | |
| Noah Dobson | - | - | - | |
| Jake Evans | - | - | - | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||