What Edmonton Oilers GM Bowman said after trading Stuart Skinner
Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman sent shockwaves through the hockey community on Friday morning.
The Oilers, fresh off a win on Thursday night, have traded Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Tristan Jarry and 24-year-old forward Samuel Poulin.
The Oilers weren’t done there, either, as they also made a separate trade with the Nashville Predators that saw them acquire defenceman Spencer Stastney in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick.
“We’ve done a lot of work on this position; obviously, it gets a lot of attention,” Bowman said. “Tristan’s had a really consistent performance as a pro, really up until last season. That was something we looked into, and wanted to see how he started this year.
“We’ve watched him very closely, and we’ve been impressed with his performance over the course of his career. I think he’s shown to be a very solid goaltender. A lot of the metrics that we track, he’s been very good on those for many years, and a large sample size.”
As Bowman alluded to, Jarry did struggle in 2024-25, being sent to the AHL for a brief period of time. That said, he has bounced back this season, posting a respectable 2.66 GAA and a .909 SV% through 14 appearances.
“I just felt it was time for something different,” Bowman explained. “It’s not so much of a comment on Stuart Skinner. It’s just time for something different here. We wanted to make sure that the person we were bringing in, we felt confident [in].”
The deal will impact the Oilers’ blue line, as Kulak has been a rock-solid piece for them ever since being acquired during the 2021-22 season. That said, both the 31-year-old and Skinner are set to become UFAs this coming summer.
“Brett Kulak has been a great Oiler,” Bowman continued. “He was excellent in the playoffs last year, there’s no doubt about that.
“We certainly weren’t trying to trade Brett Kulak. He’s a great person and a great player on our team. We’re going to miss him.”
The second move for Stastney was made to help ease the burden of losing Kulak. There isn’t a ton known about the 25-year-old defenceman, who has logged just 81 career games with the Predators.
“We were able to acquire Spencer Stastney, who’s six years younger [than Kulak], very similar styled player. The other thing we’ve liked about Stastney is his excellent mobility, he’s a great skater, a lot of quickness. He’s been very effective in the penalty kill, and he’s got some offence to his game as well. I think he really hasn’t reached his true potential yet.”
Stastney has suited up for 30 games this season, scoring a goal and adding eight helpers while averaging just shy of 15 minutes in ice time.
With the trade official, Skinner ends his Oilers tenure having appeared in 197 games, posting a 2.74 GAA and a .904 SV%. Kulak, meanwhile, logged 295 games in an Oilers sweater, racking up 15 goals and 71 points.
- You might also like:
- Edmonton Oilers make pair of back-to-back Friday morning trades