Insiders recommend that Oilers not trade Skinner simply out of desperation
Photo credit: Jerome Miron - Imagn Images
On yesterday's episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, host Tyler Yaremchuk and co-host Carter Hutton spoke about why the right approach to Edmonton's goalie-dilemma is to do nothing at all.
Fact is, Stuart Skinner has not been terrible this year, despite some weak goals and poor rebound control when games have been on the line. He has a record 4-3-2 with a .900 SV% and a 2.52 GAA.
Skinner's stats don't support an immediate trade, all considered
"Some talk that if the goaltending doesn't get fixed, is Stuart Skinner a cap casualty as they could look to upgrade the position? [He makes] $2.6 million," Yaremchuck said. "I don't think that makes sense, because the names that could be realistically out there, how much of an upgrade are there? Are you just moving on from Skinner for the sake of doing it?"
That, of course, is the real question. Making a move under duress wreaks of desperation, and the Oilers are far from being desperate, being only 2 points from taking sole possession of 1st in the Pacific.
"I feel like it immediately shows your weakness in the trade market," Cater Hutton said, "where teams are going to take advantage of you because they know that you are the team in need of a goalie."
Fifteen games in, Edmonton's roster is slowly forming into a competitive group, while addressing the areas that have cost them games. Draisaitl leads the league in goal scoring with 10, McDavid in scoring with 21 points, they'e getting secondary scoring and, well, decent goaltending too.
Skinner's mental side of his goaltending seems to have stabilized, and is slowly showing on the ice, which the goalie acknowledged himself:
«We are having talks about how we are going to get out of it, how we're just going to play a stronger, simpler game,» continued Skinner. «And I think that's really the big thing, is just keeping our game simple. Sometimes, when things aren't going well, you want to do more, and sometimes you got to do the opposite.»
All considered, the Oilers are headed in the right direction, with room for improvement of course, and until an upgrade becomes available, Skinner will be between the pipes.
| POLL | ||
7 HOURS AGO | 145 ANSWERS Insiders recommend that Oilers not trade Skinner simply out of desperation How confident are you that Stuart Skinner can lead the Oilers to the Finals this year? | ||
TRENDING NOW
