Oilers Goalie Stuart Skinner Moved Off Team Canada Projected Roster

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Liam McCormick
October 19, 2024 (2:00 PM)

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Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner has had a rough start this year, so much so that his spot on the Team Canada Olympic Roster and Four Nations Faceoff may be in jeopardy.

Daily Faceoff recently named the top goalie candidates to be in the crease for Canada during this year's four nations faceoff, and Stuart Skinner was left off the roster.

Skinner had previously been included, but had now been bumped down in favour of Samuel Montembeault who's looking primed to have a breakout year with the Canadiens. Analyst Matt Larkin believes the issue of Skinner's consistency might be the problem that leaves him off the roster.

Skinner has played just two full years as the Oilers starting goalie, and has posted mixed results. His first year was great with a .914 save percentage, but he took a significant drop down to .904 last year, which makes his early seasons struggles more concerning. Recently, NHL goalie analyst Steve Valiquette revealed that Skinner is actually the worst goalie in the league at lateral movement - making him question if Skinner is a Cup caliber goaltender.

Skinner clearly has stretches where he looks like a starting goalie that can take the Oilers all the way. The challenge is maintaining that level of play, but plenty of Oilers fans question whether they should get a proven starter for a team looking to win the Cup.

In the number one and two spot, most analysts believe Team Canada will select the two Cup Champions, Jordan Binnington and Adin Hill. Both have had strong seasons in the last two years, and have the inside track on being Canada's starter. Whoever is in net for Team Canada, plenty of Oilers fans will still be cheering on their country and many of their star players.