On December 19, 2022, the Edmonton Oilers and Stuart Skinner agreed to a three-year contract extension worth $7.8 million.
Skinner was in the second season of a two-year, two-way contract with a league minimum salary, during which he established himself as an NHL goaltender. He broke into the league early in the 2021-22 season while Mike Smith was on the Injured Reserve and came through again for the Oilers in 2022-23 when Jack Campbell couldn’t play up to expectations.
The Edmonton native wound up going 29-14-5 over the course of 50 appearances (48 starts) and posted a .913 save percentage. He was named to the NHL’s All-Rookie Team and finished as the runner-up in Calder Trophy voting for the league’s best rookie.
Even with this season’s rough start in mind, Skinner has a very team-friendly salary cap hit at $2.6 million, which ranks 37th in the league among goaltenders this season. His contract is a win for the team because it’s hometown discount, but it also represents a success for the Oilers in an area that’s traditionally been a weakness.
Within the next few weeks, Skinner will pick up his 50th win in the NHL and he’ll become just the 11th goalie in Oilers history to win 50 games with the team. Among the 10 who have done so, only three were drafted and developed by the team — Grant Fuhr (226 wins), Andy Moog (143 wins), and Devan Dubnyk (61 wins).
Considering the best of Dubnyk’s career came after he was traded away, Skinner is really the first legitimate starting goaltender the Oilers have drafted and developed since Moog and Fuhr were selected in back-to-back drafts in 1980 and 1981.
It’ll be interesting to see where Skinner ranks on Edmonton’s all-time wins list by the time this contract comes to an end following the 2025-26 season. Joining Fuhr, Moog, Bill Ranford, Tommy Salo, and Cam Talbot in the group of Oilers goaltenders who have won 100 games with the club seems realistic.
