Stuart Skinner’s path has taken another sharp turn, and now the veteran goaltender is landing with the Winnipeg Jets on a two-year deal worth $3.75 million AAV.
The Jets announced the signing Wednesday, marking Skinner’s third team in just a few months after the Edmonton Oilers moved him to the Pittsburgh Penguins in December. Winnipeg is betting that Skinner can still bring value in net, even after a season that came with plenty of turbulence.
In Pittsburgh, Skinner’s numbers were solid but not flashy. He finished with a 12-9-5 record, a 2.99 goals-against average and an .885 save percentage. Even so, he made a strong impression in the room and quickly became a well-liked presence around the Penguins’ younger goalies.
That part mattered to Pittsburgh. The team had interest in keeping him, but with so much young goaltending in the pipeline, it wasn’t willing to go beyond a one-year commitment. In a league where dependable netminders are always in demand, that opened the door for Skinner to find both more money and more term elsewhere.
Before arriving in Pittsburgh, Skinner had already built a significant résumé in Edmonton. The Edmonton native helped push the Oilers to the brink of a championship twice, only to come up short against the Florida Panthers both times. He was excellent in the 2024 postseason before losing 2-1 in Game 7 in Florida, though his play dropped off in the 2025 playoffs.
A rough start to the 2025-26 season led Edmonton to deal him to Pittsburgh in a trade that also involved Tristan Jarry. Skinner started well with the Penguins, but his play tailed off after the February Olympic break, and he went 0-3 in the postseason.
Pittsburgh’s goalie picture is already pointing elsewhere for 2026-27. Artūrs Šilovs and Sergei Murashov are expected to open the season as the Penguins’ goaltenders, with Joel Blomqvist also in the mix for playing time.
So while the Penguins liked Skinner personally and saw him as reliable enough, they were never going to make a long-term bet on him. Winnipeg was willing to do exactly that.
The bigger ripple here is what the move could signal for Connor Hellebuyck. Skinner is not being sold as a full-time No. 1 answer; his career .902 save percentage suggests more of a capable 1B option. That leaves the real question in Winnipeg still unresolved.
The most likely answer is that the Jets are preparing for life with whoever they get back in a Connor Hellebuyck trade. Buffalo’s Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is described as the most likely candidate if Winnipeg and the Sabres can work out a deal.
Luukkonen, a 6-foot-6 left-catching goalie, spent two seasons as Eric Comrie’s teammate in Buffalo and emerged as the Sabres’ 1A starter from a group that also included Comrie and Devon Levi. But his playoff struggles, including briefly losing the crease to Alex Lyon, only added to the urgency around Winnipeg’s goalie plans.
If Hellebuyck were expected to stay, the cleanest move would have been to bring back Comrie, his longtime backup. And if Hellebuyck somehow did remain, Skinner’s $3.75 million cap hit would fit comfortably enough in a backup role.
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