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NHL insider Elliotte Friedman believes Stuart Skinner's fate with Oilers is sealed
Photo credit: Walter Tychnowicz - Imagn Images
In a recent episode of 32 Thoughts, insider Elliotte Friedman emphasized that the time is now to replace Stuart Skinner.
I don't like to overreact to one game. For Edmonton, this is more than one game. After Tuesday's 8-3 Dallas destruction, the Oilers have no choice but to ask themselves if it's time to trade Stuart Skinner - for their benefit and his.
Oilers dropping to bottom of league in Goals Against
Despite the high expectations at the start of the year, Edmonton has been unable to match its level of play from the last two seasons, and defense is one reason why.
Edmonton's goalie tandem of Skinner and Pickard have recorded a franchise-worst goals against average percentage since 1979-80, are are ranked 30th in the NHL.
That would be the year Gretzky came into the picture, when everything changed for the franchise.
But here in the present, Edmonton is struggling to keep the puck away from their own goal, about which Elliotte Friedman said this:
It's 100 per cent true the Oilers are sieve-like defensively: at even-strength, they are 25th in shots against from the slot on the cycle, 29th from the slot overall and 30th from the slot against the rush (as per Sportlogiq)
When you're not getting good goaltending, the need for less shots against is essential. Unfortunately for Skinner and his team, the problem doesn't seem to be going away.
Now, at a reasonable cap hit of $2.6M, it should not be too difficult to trade Stuart Skinner.
There have been no shortage of reports concerning a goalie trade, the most recent being the Vancouver Canucks, who will likely be sellers at the trade-deadline.
How GM Stan Bowman decides, however, is anyone's guess at the moment.
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