Report: Jeff Skinner chose to sign in Edmonton after turning down offer from Maple Leafs

Jeff Skinner became one of the freshest faces on the Edmonton Oilers Monday when he signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the club.

The 32-year-old forward has yet to appear in a single playoff game in his entire NHL career, which has spanned 14 seasons with only two different teams. There’s a good chance he finally ends that dry spell with the Oilers, who are coming off a berth in the 2024 Stanley Cup Final.

The Buffalo Sabres recently exercised a buyout on the final three years of Skinner’s previous contract, which carried a $9 million cap hit. Skinner became a highly sought-after free agent on the open market, with contenders lining up to try and convince the former 40-goal scorer to join them.

In the end, Skinner chose to join the Oilers over all of them — including his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs, who, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston, tried to pitch Skinner on the prospect of playing with their “Core Four.”

“He’s going there to win. I mean, he could have signed for one year and three million in about ten spots,” Johnston said on Tuesday’s edition of The Chris Johnston Show. “I know the Leafs were among the teams that had talked to him and were trying to pitch him on the idea, hey, you can play alongside Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner on our team.”

The Oilers were among the most active teams in the league on July 1, agreeing to terms with Skinner, Viktor Arvidsson, and Josh Brown while also re-signing Adam Henrique, Corey Perry, Mattias Janmark, Connor Brown, Troy Stecher, and Calvin Pickard.

Daily Faceoff hockey insider Frank Seravalli reported on Monday that the Oilers managed to sign Arvidsson away from the rival Calgary Flames, who were “close” to adding the 31-year-old winger. The Flames were also reportedly interested in signing Josh Brown before the Oilers closed that deal.

The Oilers are coming off their greatest season since 2005-06, overcoming a rough start and the dismissal of head coach Jay Woodcroft to reach the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, where they battled back from a 3-0 deficit to force a Game 7. The Florida Panthers ultimately defeated the Oilers by a 2-1 score in the deciding seventh game to win their first-ever championship.