“I think there are similarities, and there are a lot of differences as well,” Skinner said. “Obviously, we want to win the Stanley Cup just as badly as anybody else, so I think that feeling will always be there. But just the whole feeling around this room, it’s been nothing but positive here. It’s been really, honestly – again – just family-oriented. It’s just been really enjoyable, and I already kind of forget what it was like in Edmonton.”

Considering he went to two Cup Finals with the Oilers, that last comment may sting a little for some fans in Edmonton. Still, he had some positives to say about his time in Alberta, including what it means to have played with Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid.

“It is really cool, thinking about it, that I got to play with, I mean, the best players that have ever played the game,” he said. “Obviously, being able to play with ‘Leo’ and ‘Davo’ for quite some time – really getting to know them and what they’re doing – they’re very determined, very hard-working people that are just extremely disciplined.”

He added that it has been special to now play with guys like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, observing similarities to Draisaitl and McDavid in their drive and work ethic.