OILERS TO ADD VETERAN WINGER ON A ONE-YEAR DEAL
The Oilers are expected to add winger Jeff Skinner in free agency, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports. It’s a one-year deal worth $3M, Seravalli adds.
Skinner, 32, became a UFA after the Sabres bought out the final three seasons of the eight-year, $72M pact he signed back in 2019. He’s had varying results throughout the contract, which carried a $9M cap hit and was coming off a middling 24 goals and 46 points in 74 games in 2023-24.
However, he did become one of the higher-ceiling options available on the market upon his buyout. That’s because he’s got a claim to fame that few other UFA wingers have — a 40-goal season under his belt. He’s also only one year removed from a career-high 82 points and +15 rating in 79 games with Buffalo.
And what better way to unlock that potential than putting him into an Oilers top six, potentially on a line centered by Leon Draisaitl and fresh free-agent add Viktor Arvidsson on his right flank?
He immediately jumps out as one of the better value signings of the day, especially after outproducing Evander Kane (who he’ll likely challenge for second-line duties) in slightly fewer minutes on a worse team.
Skinner won’t be a major defensive upgrade on whoever he pushes down the lineup. He’s not a terribly physically involved player and has consistently owned poor individual chance-prevention metrics. But he does have a knack for finishing, especially at 5-on-5, helping balance out an Edmonton offense that can occasionally be too power-play reliant.
With Skinner on the books, Edmonton still has roughly $2.75M in projected cap space remaining, per CapFriendly.
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