Skinner used the chillest method to get over Edmonton Oilers Stanley Cup loss
The Edmonton Oilers are back in the Stanley Cup Final, but they can still feel the sting of last year’s defeat.
This team is ready to put the past behind them, but the NHL’s media day to open up the Stanley Cup Final festivities was chock-full of questions about last season’s heartbreak. Stuart Skinner was grilled with questions about how he handled the defeat, and, as usual, the Oilers goaltender showed off just how chill he was about things.
He told reporters he channelled a specific method to get over the disappointment.
“I journaled a lot… just to kind of get it out, word vomit a bit, let all the emotion out,” Skinner said. “Journaling, meditation, a lot of stuff to calm the mind down.”
“Those things are just little tools that can really help you.”
"We get knocked down & just keep getting back up."
Stuart Skinner talks about the #Oilers resilience & more during Stanley Cup Final Media Day at @RogersPlace.@Enterprise | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/J3TLOAy4U1
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) June 3, 2025
Mourning the loss was not a straight line for the Edmonton native. He admitted that he thought he got over it quickly, but that the realization hit him midway through the offseason. Skinner credited his wife for helping him through it.
“I thought I put it away quick, but definitely, internally, there was something buried,” Skinner admitted. “It kind of hit me in the butt halfway through my summer last year… who really helped me with that was my wife.
“I was like ‘I’m totally fine’ and she was like ‘I don’t think you are’ so she really helped me in that moment… That’s what family is all about.”
Another method Skinner has been taking advantage of going into this rematch with the Florida Panthers is visualization. He told reporters that he has visualized what it would be like to win the Stanley Cup with the Oilers as well as losing in back-to-back seasons.
“I visualized both parts, losing again and being able to win,” Skinner said. “It’s a different year, I feel completely different… and you’ve got to prepare for everything.
“I’ve definitely visualized it. I’ve done all the manifestation tricks.”
This Oilers team has turned a bad start to the postseason into another Stanley Cup berth. As Game 1 approaches, Skinner gave reporters a new mantra for this Edmonton squad.
“It’s kind of the story of the Oilers, you get knocked down, we just keep on getting back up.”