Stuart Skinner is wearing Winnipeg colors now, but his presence could still end up mattering to the Edmonton Oilers.
That’s the twist in the early-season goaltending picture. Skinner, who drew plenty of criticism at different points during his time in Edmonton, was still part of two Western Conference-winning Oilers teams and helped push them to within one win of the Stanley Cup in 2024.
That Final was the closest any Canadian team had come to ending the country’s long drought since the Vancouver Canucks fell one win short in 1994 and again in 2011. The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens have also reached the Final since then, with Montreal winning Canada’s last Cup.
The Winnipeg Jets and Toronto Maple Leafs, meanwhile, have still not made it back - or, in Winnipeg’s case, there at all.
Now Skinner could be part of something else entirely: a reason Winnipeg starts thinking about Connor Hellebuyck’s future.
One week into the new NHL season, Hellebuyck remains under a team-imposed suspension, and the Jets have turned to Skinner and former Washington Capital Clay Stevenson. Stevenson just helped Winnipeg get past the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2, while Skinner opened with a 4-3 overtime loss to the Boston Bruins before beating the Detroit Red Wings 3-2. In that win, Skinner posted a .944 save percentage.
It’s early, of course, and nobody should treat a week’s worth of results like a full-season verdict. But Winnipeg’s schedule is about to get a lot more revealing.
The Jets are heading into a three-game homestand that includes the defending Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche and the Quinn Hughes-led Minnesota Wild, two teams that sit right in the middle of the Western Conference playoff conversation. Four days after that Wild game, Winnipeg hosts the 2026 Stanley Cup champions, the Carolina Hurricanes.
In other words, the next 10 days should tell us a lot more about whether this makeshift goaltending setup is just a short-term patch or something the Jets can actually live with. If Skinner and Stevenson keep holding up, Winnipeg’s front office could at least have a real conversation about the direction of the crease.
The bar is straightforward enough: over the next stretch leading into the Heritage Classic against the Montreal Canadiens at Princess Auto Stadium, the goaltending needs to help the Jets win at least half of their eight games. Winnipeg is already 2-0-1, so that would leave them sitting at 6-4-1 before a three-game run against Florida-based teams and a rematch with the Hurricanes.
If that happens, the Jets could start to see a path toward moving faster on Hellebuyck trade talks and leaning into their other two goalies.
Pierre LeBrun recently denied the idea of Hellebuyck being traded to another Canadian team, but that doesn’t shut the door on Edmonton being involved. The Oilers could still need to send a goalie back to Winnipeg to make a deal work, especially if the Jets don’t go for a full roster overhaul. Even so, a little more flexibility from Winnipeg’s side could give Edmonton a chance to offer a prospect instead of a proven starter.
In Other News...
Oilers Trade Talks Are Heating Up Around One Hidden Target
Trade chatter around the Oilers has picked up again, and this time the focus is on a young forward who could give Edmonton some additional upside down the middle. TSN insider Darren Dreger reported that general manager Stan Bowman has been in detailed talks with an Eastern Conference club, with the organization also weighing its own crop of young players as it sorts through roster options.
The identity of the player has been kept quiet, which only adds to the sense that the discussions are delicate and getting serious. Dreger said the sides have been working on the deal for several weeks and that it could be close, a sign that Edmonton may be nearing a move that says as much about its long-term planning as it does about the immediate roster. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Make A Needed Depth Move As Injuries Keep Pressuring Forwards
The Oilers kept working to patch their forward group by dealing defenseman Spencer Stastney to the Penguins for Filip Hallander, a swap that fits a couple of pressing needs on both sides. Edmonton has been leaning hard on its roster depth as injuries continue to squeeze the forwards, while Pittsburgh gets a left-shot defenseman in a move that helps its own blue line picture.
Hallander has seen only limited NHL action with Pittsburgh this season, but Edmonton is clearly willing to take a look at another option who can help stabilize the middle and bottom of the lineup. For a team trying to stay afloat through the wear and tear of the early season, even a modest depth addition can matter, and this one gives the Oilers a little more flexibility as they wait on healthier bodies to return. [Read more 🡒]
Oilers Just Made A Fringe Roster Move Worth Watching
The Oilers have made a small roster move that could end up being more interesting than it looks on the surface, swapping a defenseman for a forward in a deal with Pittsburgh. Edmonton sent Spencer Stastney to the Penguins and brought back Filip Hallander, with both clubs confirming the trade as the Oilers continue to tinker at the margins of the roster.
Stastney had made Edmontons opening-night roster, but he has not played in a game this season, which gives the move a little extra weight for a team always trying to balance depth now against flexibility later. Hallander arrives with his own career path and recent performance history, and for the Oilers the real question is whether this is simply a depth shuffle or the first sign of a broader look at how the bottom of the lineup is being shaped. [Read more 🡒]