Stuart Skinner Harshly Disrespected By Sportsnet After Being Cut By Team Canada
Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart skinner was cut from the Team Canada roster for the 4 Nations Faceoff, but now he may be catching a little too much disrespect from
the media.
Stuart Skinner, Zach Hyman, and Evan Bouchard were the three prominent Oilers to be left off the roster. Skinner may have been the most deserving of the roster cut with an .889 save percentage, but he did take the Oilers to the Cup Final last year.
Despite that playoff experience and being a starting goalie on a top NHL team, Stuart Skinner didn't even make Sportsnet's project Team Canada backup roster. Logan Thompson, Cam Talbot, and Marc Andre-Fleury were named.
Stuart Skinner Cut From Team Canada Projected Backup Roster
Stuart Skinner has been inconsistent to begin this season, but through his career, he's been a league average goaltender that's able to win the Oilers games.
Early this season, Skinner's save percentage dipped down into the .870s, but he's already back on the rise. The goalies that Team Canada did select, Binnington and Hill, both have been in the .800s this season as well.
The reality is that NHL save percentage is actually declining league wide over the last few seasons. Skinner's got serious struggles for a cup contending team, but other goaltenders are facing similar problems.
Right now, the book is out on Skinner's weakness around the NHL - he's the slowest goalie in lateral movement. Team are exploiting that weakness right now, but hopefully, the Oilers are working to build it into a strength.
For Skinner to be left off the Team Canada snub team entirely, in place of former Oiler Cam Talbot and 40 year old Marc-Andre Fleury, is borderline disrespectful to Skinner.
Hopefully Skinner will be able to find his game again this season, bring himself back up to league average, and prove himself to the league in the playoffs as a real starting goalie. Even still, the Oilers shouldn't just hope on that, they may want to acquire goaltending help this deadline.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Stuart Skinner should have made Team Canada? | ||
| Yes | 24 | 18.6 % |
| No | 101 | 78.3 % |
| See Results | 4 | 3.1 % |
| List of polls | ||
MUST READ
TRENDING NOW
