Would Jeff Skinner Waive His No Trade Clause to Leave the Edmonton Oilers

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Liam McCormick
November 29, 2024 (5:00 PM)

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The Edmonton Oilers are facing a dilemma with free agent signing Jeff Skinner, and they may have to ask him to waive his no-trade clause for a move this season if things don't improve.

Skinner is playing on the fourth line most games, only playing more than 14 minutes 6 times in 22 games. Even with injuries to Zach Hyman and Victor Arvidsson Skinner still isn't seeing much increased ice time or power play time.

That may be a deliberate decision from Knoblauch, because Skinner isn't producing much to earn more ice time- he's only on pace to score 15 goals this year, which would be a career low over a full season.

Skinner may need some more ice time to produce, but right now, he's not making much of a difference in the Oilers bottom six.

Surprisingly, Oilers insider Bob Stauffer mentioned Skinner's name when raising the idea of a forward trade when Evander Kane returns to the lineup.

Oilers blog The Oil Rig also named Skinner as a trade piece for the team, simply pointing out the fact that he's not scoring or playing an important role, and that $3M is valuable.

The main draw with Skinner is that he's scoring like a fourth liner but making $3M, so getting rid of him doesn't hurt the team much and is decent cap relief.
- The Oil Rig

The issue with trading Jeff Skinner is his no-trade clause, but numerous sources on X believe that Skinner would waive his no trade as long as he was joining another contender.

It'd be difficult to see Skinner accept a trade to leave Edmonton, but for himself personally, it may be the best thing to do.

Back in the offseason, it was reported that Skinner nearly signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In Skinner's 1000+ games NHL career he's never made the playoffs, so that would be a priority for him.

It would be incredibly unfortunate to see Skinner's tenure with the Edmonton Oilers be so short lived and so underwhelming. Signing him this offseason, Oilers fans thought they were getting a player that could near 40 goals with Leon Draisaitl or Connor McDavid.

Instead, the veteran Skinner has found himself mostly buried with depth players and mired in the worst season of his career. At this point, he may even welcome a fresh start to help his potential earnings next year.