Former Oiler Jeff Skinner officially signs with new team

According to insider reports last week, there was very little interest from any NHL team to sign Skinner at all. Joining a rebuilding Sharks team, he'll still have to fight younger players for ice time.

The San Jose Sharks announced the contract with the 33 year old sniper on social media this afternoon.

Despite only playing 4th line minutes, being healthy scratched frequently, and never getting any powerplay time - Skinner still managed to pot 16 goals and 29 points in 72 games.

He was among the Oilers' most efficient scorers by ice time, but the Coach could just never find a fit for his style of play. Coach Knoblauch openly admitted during the season that it just wasn't a good fit.

Skinner still profiles excellently with analytics stats, but one glaring weakness of his game was his declining speed. Put together with his physical and defensive shortcomings, and Knoblauch had no time for him.

The Sharks have a number of quality young wingers that Skinner will have to battle for ice time, but San Jose could be a good environment for him to play top powerplay minutes, score some goals, and get traded to a Cup Contender at the deadline.

Oilers fans will be wishing the best for Jeff Skinner in his next opportunity. It was disappointing that the fit never worked out in Edmonton.