So I’m sure by now you’ve seen that the Oilers actually pulled the trigger on a Tristan Jarry trade with Pittsburgh, sending Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round draft pick.

I feel nostalgia for the offseason of 2016 again. Back then, the Oilers made a blockbuster trade of a one-for-one in Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson, but they were immediately upstaged by the Montreal Canadiens, who made an even bigger trade of PK Subban for Shea Weber.

Fast forward to today, and the Oilers’ trade for Tristan Jarry was immediately upstaged by the Vancouver Canucks, who pulled off an even bigger blockbuster, trading Quinn Hughes to Minnesota for three prospects and a first-round pick in 2026.

I was actually a bit baffled as to why the Oilers traded away this much of a haul for a struggling goalie whose team had publicly said they would not retain salary — a really bad idea when you’re trying to unload a struggling player. I did find it amusing that the Oilers sent out a second-round pick so far in the future — but let’s just be honest, Pittsburgh had to bend somewhere to make the trade work.

Then I saw this article from Mark Spector of Sportsnet. When the story first broke, I wondered if the Oilers players had gone to Bowman and asked them to trade Skinner because they had lost confidence in him, but no such information has been reported on.

I don’t have strong feelings one way or the other about this trade, because honestly I can see it from both sides. Let’s go through it now.

The reasons I don’t like this trade are, first and foremost, that Jarry is older. He’s 30, three years older than Skinner, so he’s not a long-term solution. We can only hope that one of Samuel Jonsson or Nathaniel Day emerges during that time to replace him down the road, because with a very few exceptions going into the playoffs with a player on the wrong side of 30 is not a good idea.

Jarry has never been more than an average goalie during his career, just like Jacob Markstrom was (and still is) when Ken Holland went after him in free agency. Take a look for yourself if you don’t believe me.

My mantra when it comes to any goalie trade is he had to be a clear upgrade on Skinner, and I don’t see Jarry as that.

Take a look at those numbers again and you’ll see Jarry has only had a single elite season in his career (.921 save percentage), though he did come close two seasons later (.919 save percentage). But he’s only been average since and only sports a .909 career save percentage. Compare this to Stuart Skinner, and you can see the Oilers basically made a lateral move, nothing more.

Jarry also has a reputation as an injury prone player. Take a look at that link and you’ll see a long track record of injuries, most notably three in 2023 and he’s already on his second so far this season and the calendar hasn’t even turned over yet. And now, he’s already hurt after just three starts in Edmonton.

I’m well aware that Skinner has his flaws, but he seemed to be doing better once the skaters in front of him played better defence. I was fine with trading Skinner as long as the player was a clear upgrade, which IMO Jarry isn’t.

There’s also the fact that at a mere eight games, Jarry has next to no playoff experience, while Skinner has been between the pipes most of the time that we went to two straight Cup finals.

I also wasn’t a fan of Brett Kulak being included in the trade, but there were two main reasons for that from what I can see.

One, Kulak’s regular-season performance had fallen off over the last couple of seasons, even though his playoff performances were still solid. But, that being said, I wasn’t really a fan of his cap hit, and he probably would’ve looked for a raise on his $2.75-million cap hit, which is already a lot for what is mostly a third-pairing blue liner that does spot duty in the top four.

Two, the Oilers needed to shed more salary to make up for the fact that Jarry has more than double the cap hit of Skinner. Kulak was the logical choice. Both he and Skinner were in contract years and were likely due raises that the Oilers probably didn’t want to spend money on.

Still, though, I have a feeling the Oilers will miss Kulak come playoff time. Maybe they trade with Pittsburgh to re-acquire him at the trade deadline as a rental and then let him walk in free agency.

There are reasons why I like this trade, too.

The Oilers now have cost certainty at the goalie position as Jarry has two more seasons after this one at a cap hit of $5.375-million. Since there aren’t that many goalies available in free agency, if Skinner isn’t re-upped in Pittsburgh, then another team’s GM is bound to overpay him in free agency. It’s a good thing that the team won’t be the Oilers. Getting rid of two contracts you won’t have to worry about is definitely a good thing. Kulak will probably get overpaid in free agency, too, or be signed to too much term. I highly doubt that team is the Oilers.

Jarry also has a history in Edmonton. He may not be a local boy like Skinner was, but he played his junior hockey here for the Oil Kings, so this is a homecoming of sorts for him. That’s loyalty that’s almost as good.

As this was a trade for two problem children, Jarry, like Skinner, gets his chance at a fresh start with a superior team. Never underestimate the impact of a fresh start trade on a guy. Some players can’t take advantage of it, but many do. Jarry has been traded up to a Cup contender, while Kulak and Skinner are now gone to a team on the down.