When polling the Edmonton Oilers fanbase on who is the most polarizing player on the team, the answer can vary. Often times, it’s Darnell Nurse and his overpriced contract. Sometimes, it can be Evan Bouchard, and his defence (or sometimes lack thereof). The equally prime target, however, is the easiest one to go after: the goalie—in this case, Stuart Skinner.
There’s a distinct dichotomy when it comes to Skinner. He can either be as hot as a 30-degree day with max humidity, or as ice-cold as the North Saskatchewan River in the winter. Seldom is there an in-between, it would seem. His stats appear average (more on those in a second) sometimes due simply to hot streaks and cold streaks cancelling each other out.
When removing personal opinion, this observer notes a clear fact. There are both hardcore Stu defenders, and online goalie coaches who expect a save from him on a scoring chance prime Martin Brodeur wouldn’t be able to snag. As for his true performance? As with most things, the answer lies somewhere in the middle.
Skinner’s statistics past two seasons
| Season | Games played | Wins | Losses | Goals Against Average | Save percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–24 | 59 | 36 | 16 | 2.62 | .905 |
| 2024–25 | 51 | 26 | 18 | 2.81 | .896 |
Skinner’s strengths in 2024–25
One thing Skinner is good at is positional saves. Skinner is a larger goalie, and if you’re trying to beat him in tight, or with a chance from distance, the shot quite often has to be perfect. Trying to simply force something past him isn’t enough most nights.
Skinner is also very good at rebounding from tough outings, and maintaining positive momentum. Consider that, 14 games into the season, his save percentage was sitting at .862 thanks to a number of rough contests (see: Opening night, Winnipeg). By season’s end, Skinner boosted that stat by 34 points, nearly completing the climb back to .900. That takes both resilience, and most of your other 37 games being good performances.
Skinner also has the ability to randomly turn on brick-wall mode, as we especially saw in the playoffs. Following four regular season shutouts, Skinner became the first Oilers goaltender since Curtis Joseph with consecutive playoff shutouts to help the Oilers clinch the series versus the Vegas Golden Knights. For good measure, he threw a third one in there in the very next round against the Dallas Stars.
Skinner’s weaknesses in 2024–25
A scrambly Skinner is not a good Skinner, this much can be agreed upon. His recovery time to get back into position is on the longer end of the scale. Once in a while, as we saw before he turned into the Joker versus Vegas, he’ll also just lose the net entirely trying to do too much.
Lateral movement is something else the Oilers will be hoping Skinner improves on, with new goaltending coach, Peter Aubry. The Florida Panthers were able to beat him quite often by going cross-ice multiple times, stretching Skinner out and taking away his positional advantage. It may even take some adjusting of how he reads plays, to improve that aspect.
Lastly, when the going gets tough, it can take a couple of games for the tough to get going. Skinner does have the resilience to bounce back from rough outings, but once in a while, it becomes a more difficult chore to accomplish. That 14-game stretch to open the season could have been altered with a better reset, and stronger mental ability to park games such as the abject disaster of Opening Night.
Skinner’s 2024–25 performance review
The best way to sum up Skinner in 2024–25 is the same way you could sum up multiple players: nconsistent. Some good nights, some bad nights, a couple transcendent performances, a few ugly ones. Not as downright awful as some make him out to be (there were 50 goalies who played at least one NHL game this past season who finished with worse save percentages than Skinner), but not dynamite either.
When on his game, Skinner is a cool, calm goaltender. Positionally sound, and forces shooters to be perfect on their shots, or take too long trying to find an alternate seam. When off his game, it’s like looking at an omelette you made two minutes after shuffling out of bed in the morning. You can see what the intent is, but the presentation is scrambled and sloppy.
Skinner’s 2024–25 player grade
B
Honestly, this could very well have been a B-minus, as you still expect better than an .896 save percentage from your starting goalie. However, Skinner did save himself a bit with the strong playoffs comeback against Vegas and Dallas. We might never see another Oilers netminder post three shutouts in four starts ever again. When you’re in the same conversation as CuJo, you’re doing something right.
Skinner’s expectations for 2025–26 and beyond
Therein lies the challenge.
We know what Skinner is capable of. He nearly won the Calder Trophy just two seasons ago, and was named an All-Star for pulling that 2022–23 season back from the brink. He brought the Oilers to within a game of the 2024 Stanley Cup and has outdueled consensus elite Goalie Jake Oettinger in consecutive Western Conference Finals. Some of his accomplishments get him mentioned in the same sentences as Joseph, Grant Fuhr, and Andy Moog.
Consistency is the paramount issue, when all is said and done. Skinner fell victim to too many off-nights, too many times where the team needed just another save or two here and there and he couldn’t deliver. Those can’t keep happening.
Aubry, it’s worth noting, has worked with former Chicago Blackhawks netminder Corey Crawford before. Crawford didn’t even make it out of the first round in his first two seasons, but by Year 5, he had two Stanley Cups. Skinner is still just 26-years-old, and can still improve as he enters the “goalie’s prime” ages. Here’s hoping some of that Crow magic has been transported to Edmonton in Aubry’s suitcases.
Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire
