Stuart Skinner has decided to change agents, significant in the respect that he has only just completed the first season of his current three-year, $7.8 million deal with the Edmonton Oilers. The move was confirmed on social media by Ray Petkau of Alpha Hockey, the agency which has replaced J.P. Barry as the goalie's representation.
Of note, one of Petkau's other client's is fellow NHL goalie Connor Hellebuyck. The Winnipeg Jets' netminder is a four-time All-Star, who this past season won his second Vezina Trophy and first William M. Jennings Trophy.
Hellebuyck has just completed the first season of a seven-year, $59.5 million contract extension he signed last October. Prior to signing the deal, the 31-year-old was set to become an unrestricted free agent at the conclusion of the 2023-24 campaign.
There will be those intrigued by the timing of such a move by Skinner, but it will certainly make for a different proposition when it comes time to negotiate his next contract. In fairness though this was already the case, given Ken Holland was the Oilers' general manager last time the goaltender was discussing a new deal, but the controversial Stan Bowman now holds that position.
Skinner will be the ultimate negotiating factor
In truth though, even allowing for different people being on either side of the next contract negotiations, any deal will be ultimately determined by Skinner's play on the ice. And really, that's what makes things so intriguing and unpredictable - at least to a certain extent.
On the one hand, the 25-year-old has proved to be quite inconsistent at times, since he took over as the Oilers' main man between the pipes. And that's during both the regular season and the playoffs.
This past season saw Skinner start with a 1-5-1 record in his first eight appearances. He allowed a combined 29 goals and had the third-worst save percentage among all NHL goaltenders.
As the team improved -- specifically after Kris Knoblauch was hired to take over from Jay Woodcroft as head coach -- so did the play of the Edmonton native. By the end of the regular season he had set new personal bests of 57 starts and 36 wins, while equalling his career-low of a 2.62 Goals Against Average (GAA); he had also dragged his .881 save percentage from the first two months of the season up to a more respectable .905.
No escaping the inconsistency
Unfortunately for everyone concerned, the inconsistency returned during the playoffs, as Skinner struggled particularly during the early stages of each playoff round. In fact at one stage versus the Vancouver Canucks specifically, he was replaced for two games by Calvin Pickard.
However, the 2023 All-Star would always recover as each matchup progressed, alluding to his impressive mental fortitude. Albeit, he ultimately fell agonisingly one win short of backstopping the Oilers to their first Stanley Cup championship since 1990.
Overall on the plus side, Skinner certainly improved on his second trip to the playoffs, as he went 14-9-0 in 23 starts. His first time around he went just 5-6 in his six starts, produced a 3.68 GAA and .883 save percentage, and had to be replaced four times by Jack Campbell.
Still though, in respect of the 2017 third round draft pick's propensity for inconsistency, his .901 save percentage during the 2023-24 playoffs is not exactly something to write home about overall. Even allowing for his strong 2.45 GAA, the save percentage has to improve, no matter what stage of the season we're at.
Which once more brings us back to Skinner's decision to swap agents. No matter how good Petkau and Alpha Hockey might be at negotiating deals on behalf of their clients, it will only matter to a certain extent; it's the play of the Oilers netminder between the pipes, which will be the determining factor in the length and value of his next contract.