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The Edmonton Oilers have lost consecutive Stanley Cup Finals to the Florida Panthers. They made massive changes to their forward depth, with Evander Kane and Viktor Arvidsson out and Isaac Howard and Andrew Mangiapane in. But they made no changes to the goaltending room after a tough season. Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch did make a change to the goalie coach, which he hopes can change things for Stuart Skinner.
“There were times where [our goalies] were exceptional and there were other times where we were wanting a little bit more from them,” Knoblauch said, per NHL.com's Derek Van Diest. The Oilers recently let Dustin Schwartz's contract expire and hired Peter Aubry.
The Oilers could have made a trade to improve their goaltending this summer. The Anaheim Ducks sent John Gibson to the Detroit Red Wings for a second and fourth-round pick during the draft. But Edmonton did not make that deal, keeping Skinner and Calvin Pickard in their goaltending room.
Aubry will have one year to turn Skinner into a legit starter, or the Oilers will have some serious questions to answer. His contract expires after the 2025-26 season, as does Connor McDavid's. If Edmonton does not have a solid goalie, will McDavid leave? It is possible, and it should have been enough to force a goaltending change.
The Oilers have made it to the Stanley Cup Final in two of Skinner's three full seasons. However, his save percentage has gone down in each regular season. He finished second in Calder Trophy voting in 2022-23 with a .913 save percentage. But last year, many people were thinking Edmonton would trade for a goalie at the trade deadline.
The Oilers need Aubry's hire to change things for Skinner and get the team to the Stanley Cup Final again. If he does, it could mean another decade of Connor McDavid.
