Scenes from Oilers practice: Jeff Skinner was the extra forward again

Jeff Skinner signed a $3-million “show me” deal with the Oilers after the Buffalo Sabres bought out the remainder of his contract this past summer, and the thinking was that he’d fit into the Oilers top-six beside Leon Draisaitl. Clearly, the plan hasn’t gone as hoped, but what I didn’t see coming was that the six-time 30-goal scorer would be watching games from the press box before 2024 was over.

So, when I saw Bob Stauffer tweet that Skinner was an extra at practice Monday morning, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t chuckle a little bit. It’s not that I think having our $3 million forward being a healthy scratch is funny, it’s more so that it’s puzzling. With Jeff Jackson’s plan for Skinner going sideways after including a no-move clause on his contract, what I’ll be fascinated to watch is how this whole thing plays out.

Sid wondered about this Skinner situation in his article from the week, and I think he nailed it as always:

Skinner has spent the vast majority of his TOI in the bottom six. On the season, he ranks 8th among the team’s forwards in TOI per game, and 11th in the month of December. He is expected to be a healthy scratch in today’s game against the Anaheim Ducks.

In fairness, it is difficult to argue that Skinner has played well. No Oilers forward has been on ice for more goals and scoring chances against at 5-on-5 than Skinner, and he possesses the worst goal differential on the team. His production hasn’t been nearly enough to make up for it.

But at the same time, can we really be surprised by his play, considering his deployment? Historically speaking, Skinner has always performed best as a scoring winger next to skilled centres. He has never been a bottom-six grinder.

Where the whole situation gets hairy is with Skinner’s deployment. If he’s unable to play alongside McDavid or Draisaitl in the team’s top-six for whatever reason Knoblauch has decided, then where do you put him? The guy isn’t a grinder and he’s not a penalty killer, and that doesn’t leave many reps available for a guy who’s only played on skilled lines. If Skinner does get scratched again Tuesday night against the Utah Hockey Club, I’ll be thinking back to what Kris Knoblauch said about Skinner after the Oilers’ 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators last week.

“Just play good hockey,” he said. “I look at our team and who is he elevating? We’ve got a lot of guys that are playing really well right now. He’ll have his opportunity. The season’s long. There’s injuries, there’s guys that go through slumps.

Tonight I thought was a good game from him. Derek Ryan, Corey Perry, and Skinner played extremely well tonight. They spent a lot of time in the offensive zone, they’re around the net a lot. That’s what I expect from him.”

Only 35 games into his tenure as an Oiler, Jeff Skinner seems to be in Kris Knoblauch’s doghouse with a leash so short he can barely breathe. A lot can change between now and Tuesday’s game against Utah, but for now, it looks like Jeff Skinner is on his way to a second straight night in the press box. Not ideal.

JEFF SKINNER’S 2024-25 SEASON SO FAR