Oilers opinion on Stuart Skinner and goalie trade revealed by NHL insider
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According to new insider reports, the Edmonton Oilers will not trade for a goaltender because they don't believe there's an upgrade for Stuart Skinner available.
The Oilers have been heavily linked to Ducks goalie John Gibson, so it follows that Edmonton's management doesn't believe he would be an upgrade on Skinner.
Edmonton Oilers make their thoughts known on Stuart Skinner, goalie trade
On today's edition of Insider Trading, NHL insider Pierre LeBrun reported the Oilers still don't see goaltending as a trade priority, and aren't thrilled with the options on the market.
It's not a priority discussion within the Oilers front office for a very specific reason. I don't think that the Oilers look at the goalie available on the market right now and say «There's a guy who's an absolute guaranteed upgrade over Stuart Skinner.»
I'm not saying it's not possible for them to trade for a goalie, but it's not a priority item for them.
- Pierre LeBrun
I'm not saying it's not possible for them to trade for a goalie, but it's not a priority item for them.
- Pierre LeBrun
The Edmonton Oilers may not broadcast to the entire NHL that they want a goaltender - it wouldn't help them in trade discussions if they were trying to make a trade. However, the information that there's not an upgrade available is plain false.
In 38 games this season, Stuart Skinner has an .838 save percentage. According to MoneyPuck, Skinner ranks 50th out of 67 goals in GSAx out of goalie who have started at least 10 games. Most importantly, Skinner has frankly stunk against top 10 teams.
Oilers have options to upgrade on Stuart Skinner
John Gibson would be an expensive trade to make for assets and salary cap, but he has been a far better goalie than Stuart Skinner this season. In 24 games, Gibson has a .916 save percentage and ranks 7th in GSAx.
Karel Vejmelka is another option who's performed better than Skinner this season. The Utah goalie has a .909 save percentage in 35 games, and ranks 12th in GSAx.
Both Gibson and Vejmelka may be available for the Oilers to acquire in trade this season, and both would be an upgrade on Stuart Skinner. More importantly, the Oilers don't need to upgrade on Skinner - but getting an upgrade on Pickard at least is a must.
Hopefully the Oilers are just posturing to the media, otherwise, they're about to enter the playoffs year 10 of Connor McDavid's career with below average goaltending yet again. It's time they fix the long standing issue.
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