Oilers bringing sniper Jeff Skinner on board with one-year contract
The Edmonton Oilers made another big move on the opening day of free agency, landing sniper Jeff Skinner just a day after he was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres.
This comes after Skinner was linked to the Oilers by multiple insiders and is the team’s biggest addition outside of signing Viktor Arvidsson earlier this morning. Skinner will join the Oilers on a one-year deal that carries a $3 million cap hit.
Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli had the initial report.
1 year x $3 million for Skinner in Edmonton. https://t.co/3TMzpQ2hgm
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 1, 2024
Skinner is coming off a few very good productive seasons with the Sabres, including an 82-point campaign that saw him score 35 goals in 2022-23. Last season, Skinner managed 24 goals and 46 points in 74 games.
Adding a player of Skinners’ skillset into the forward group will give the Oilers a lot more options to play around with in their top-9. His 24 goals from last season would have been tied for fourth on the team alongside Evander Kane. When you add the fact that Arvidsson has also been added, the options heading into next season are plentiful.
This signing gives the Oilers around eight players who could be legitimate options in their top six, joining the likes of Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Zach Hyman, Evander Kane, Dylan Holloway, and Arvidsson.
Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch acknowledged the fact that Draisaitl has not been given a lot of good options on his wing in recent years, so early indications could point to Skinner playing on the team’s second-line alongside the German power forward.
Despite appearing in over 1000 NHL games, Skinner has yet to play in the Stanley Cup playoffs, a fact that will hopefully change with the Oilers next season.
Edmonton is now left with around $2.8 million in cap space to sign RFAs Holloway and Philip Broberg.
Follow Channels and Categories