The Winnipeg Jets have added a new name in goal, landing Stuart Skinner on a two-year deal worth $3.75 million a year. The move gives Winnipeg another option between the pipes while the club continues conversations about a possible Connor Hellebuyck trade.
That’s the key wrinkle here: Skinner’s arrival does not automatically mean Hellebuyck is on the move. Darren Dreger reported, “This does not mean a trade involving Hellebuyck is imminent.
Decent insurance or backup for the Jets.” Even so, the signing does give Winnipeg a little more room to maneuver if the front office does decide to make a major deal.
Skinner, 27, comes over after spending most of his career with the Edmonton Oilers, with a brief stop in Pittsburgh as well. Edmonton drafted him 78th overall in 2017 out of the WHL’s Lethbridge Hurricanes and Swift Current Broncos, and he became the Oilers’ full-time starter in 2022-23.
His time in Edmonton came with plenty of ups and downs. Skinner’s regular-season production has swung from year to year, and his inconsistency has drawn criticism at times. But he still carved out a major role in the crease and helped take the Oilers to back-to-back Stanley Cup Finals appearances.
He may not have been the flashiest goalie on the market, but he was one of the more dependable options available in free agency. For Winnipeg, that makes this a meaningful piece of business - and a possible sign the team is keeping every door open as the Hellebuyck situation develops.
In Other News...
Oilers Goalie Situation Just Took Another Frustrating Turn
Connor Ingrams lone season in Edmonton has become part of a much larger summer scramble in net, with the Oilers still searching for answers after their talks with the veteran goalie failed to produce a new deal. The market has already started to sort itself out around the club, and Edmonton has been tied to a handful of different options as it tries to settle on a direction before the rest of the goalie carousel slows down.
Among the names linked to the Oilers are Sebastian Cossa, Devon Levi and Sergei Bobrovsky, a list that underscores just how wide the teams search has become. Ingram, meanwhile, is also drawing attention elsewhere, including from Ottawa as a possible backup option, leaving Edmonton to keep weighing its alternatives while one of last seasons familiar faces moves toward another stop. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Add Mathieu Joseph And Fans Will Debate What It Means
The Oilers kept busy on the roster front again, this time adding Mathieu Joseph on a one-year deal that gives the club another NHL-tested forward to sort into the mix. Joseph arrives with plenty of mileage on his rsum, having played 471 games in the league, and his path through St. Louis and Los Angeles last season only adds to the sense that Edmonton is still looking for useful pieces wherever it can find them.
For a team that has already layered in a string of other moves, Joseph is the kind of signing that invites debate because it says something about both fit and intent. Edmonton still has cap room to work with, but the real question now is how this latest addition slots into the larger plan as the Oilers continue reshaping the bottom of the lineup and trying to make each move count. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Just Made A Goaltending Gamble That Could Change Everything
The Oilers have taken another swing at solving the one area that has haunted too many of their recent runs, signing Frederik Andersen to a one-year deal and adding Devon Levi in a move that signals a real reset in net. Andersen comes in on a modest salary with performance bonuses attached, while Levi arrives as a younger piece with upside, giving Edmonton a different kind of depth chart heading toward the 2026-27 season.
What makes the decision interesting is the structure around it, because Edmonton is not treating this as a simple starter-and-backup arrangement. The plan is to carry Andersen, Levi and Tristan Jarry in a three-goalie setup, a rare approach for a team trying to build stability rather than just patch a hole, and it leaves the Oilers with plenty to sort out before opening night of that season. [Read more 🡒]