The 4 Nations Face-Off rosters were just unveiled and Stuart Skinner’s name is not among the Canadian goaltenders. After his slow start to the 2024-25 NHL season, I can understand why he wasn’t chosen. However, if I was Skinner (and Evan Bouchard & Zach Hyman), I would use the snub as personal motivation and play the rest of the season with a chip on my shoulder. It worked for me back when I played net in Jr. B hockey. (Don’t laugh-I was invited to try out for the NCAA’s Princeton Tigers).
I was left off the invite list for Team Alberta for the Canadian Winter Games in 1983 and went on to use it as motivation for the rest of the year, including handing Team Alberta a 3-2 loss – their only defeat by a Jr. B team in their pre-tournament tour before the Games. I hope Skinner has it in him to play angry and use the omission from Team Canada as fuel to get him over the top and take the Oilers far in the playoffs. I get a sense he will.
Skinner Starting To Turn His Game Around
The Oilers are playing better hockey as the season goes on, and part of the reason is that Skinner is starting to find his form. In the Oilers 4-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 30 and 1-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Dec. 3, Skinner was, for the most part, solid. Sure he let in a bit of a weak goal against the Golden Knights but he held the Oilers in the game when called upon. It wasn’t his fault that the Oilers couldn’t beat Golden Knight’s goalie, Adin Hill.
For those who think Hill is a better goalie than Skinner, you would be fair in making that assessment so far this season. But we’re only in December and there’s a lot of runway left . I wouldn’t count Skinner out yet, he’s still the guy that out-dueled Dallas Stars netminder Jake Oettinger in the Western Conference Finals last season. Oettinger is often considered one of the best goalies in the NHL and will be representing Team USA at the 4 Nations Face-Off in February.
Don’t Count Skinner Out Just Yet
The optics on Skinner this season haven’t been great. He currently sits in 42nd place among NHL goalies in save percentage (SV%) at .889% but he’s only .001% behind Florida Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Skinner seems to play his best hockey later in the season, just as his team does. He’s familiar with adversity and has battled through it a few times in his young NHL career. To write him off at this point in the season wouldn’t be wise. However, he still has to prove himself this season and show he’s the right goalie to take the Oilers all the way back to the Stanley Cup Final.
If he falters anywhere along the way, then the Oilers are going to have to take a long look at what they want to do with their goaltending in the offseason. Skinner is on a value contract for another season, and his $2.6 million annual price tag really helps a cash-strapped team such as the Oilers. Some fans are looking for the Oilers to make a change in net right away, but Oilers general manager Stan Bowman is going to need to ship bodies and salary out of town if he wants to trade for a big-time goalie such as Juuse Saros of the Nashville Predators or Igor Shesterkin of the New York Rangers.
Skinner and the Oilers Need a Strong December
It seems the Golden Knights are pulling away with the lead in the NHL’s Pacific Division and if the Oilers want to keep pace they have to take advantage of their schedule which sees them play nine of their next 12 games at home. Skinner and his goalie partner Calvin Pickard need to use the practice time to fine-tune their craft. There’s nothing like being at home for long stretches to get the extra practice time in. That’s often where NHL seasons are won and lost, contrary to what guys like Allen Iverson say.
Call it an old goalie hunch, but I think Skinner is going to get better and better as the season rolls along. Hopefully he does have that chip on his shoulder from not being selected to Team Canada’s roster for the 4 Nations Face-Off. I hope he uses that as motivation to take his game to a whole new level in the second half of the season. If he does, I wouldn’t want to bet against the Oilers once the playoffs draw near.
