Stuart Skinner's salary demand updated after Blackhawks sign young starting goalie

Skinner is one of multiple Oilers who will be unrestricted free agents at the end of the year, but insider Bob Stauffer has not mentioned him as one of the priorities for the team to sign. Judging by his estimated salary raise, some caution makes sense.

The Blackhawks traded for goalie Spencer Knight last year at the trade deadline, and he had a strong 15-game stretch with the team. The 24 year old goalie has only played 95 career NHL games with an .904 save percentage, and still earned an annual salary of $5.833M.

Oilers analyst Bruce Curlock has issued a warning to fans to expect to see Stuart Skinner's salary much higher than Knight's new contract.

The 26 year old Skinner has a more impressive resume than Knight, and will be a UFA on his next deal which will drive up salary. Skinner's played 174 career games with a .906 save percentage, and 2 Cup Final appearances.

Experts at AFP Analytics have estimated that Skinner could earn more than $6M on just a 4 year contract.

The Oilers may not be so comfortable paying so much for Skinner after his struggles in the last two playoffs leading to him being pulled several times.

Skinner fell beneath a .900 save percentage last year, and needs to improve significantly to warrant such a major contract. Hopefully he improves, or the Oilers will need to search elsewhere to allocate so much resources to goaltending.