EDMONTON — Jeff Skinner’s first quarter with the Edmonton Oilers hasn’t gone according to plan. Not even close.
Skinner has gone from being a prized free-agent signing to someone who’s struggled to find a consistent role within the lineup for several weeks. He has four goals and seven points with a team-worst minus-9 rating through his first 22 games.
This isn’t the way it was supposed to play out.
“It’s been up and down,” Skinner said. “There’s definitely parts I want to keep building on and trying to get to that next level.”
Skinner was an immediate and aggressive target by the Oilers after he was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres in June. He signed a one-year, $3 million contract that included a no-movement clause on July 1. The match seemed perfect.
Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch pointed out a few times last season, including in the playoffs, that Leon Draisaitl didn’t get to skate enough with top-quality offensive wingers. Skinner, a six-time 30-goal scorer, fit the bill.
However, the fit that seemed so good has been so off for most of the season, dating back to training camp when his work in the exhibition schedule was substandard. Knoblauch even had Skinner out of the top six for a practice in the days between the initial roster being named and the season opener.
That proved to be a sign of things to come.
Though Skinner regained his spot on Draisaitl’s line for the opener, his place there was short-lived. He was moved to Connor McDavid’s wing by the third game and then out of the top six altogether a game after that.
Over the last 19 outings, Skinner has started a game in a top-six role eight times. Three of those instances came when McDavid was sidelined with an ankle injury. He has slotted on the fourth line four times with three of them coming when the team dressed 11 forwards.
Skinner has lined up with every Oilers forward for a regular shift except fellow left winger Vasily Podkolzin.
“It happens throughout the course of a season,” he said. “It’s nothing new. It happens, partially when the team is looking to find some rhythm. For whatever reason I haven’t found that sustained momentum.
“There’s good enough players up and down the lineup. Everyone can make plays. Getting used to guys and communicating through different situations obviously helps when you get more reps.”
Knoblauch wants Skinner to win more puck battles and be more of an offensive catalyst.
In the meantime, Skinner is averaging 13:44 of ice time, the lowest of his career. He’s received 54 seconds on the power play per game, only the second season he hasn’t averaged at least two minutes. (The other was in the truncated 2021 campaign when he played 1:18 per outing on the man advantage.)
The Oilers’ power play has underperformed all season and Skinner replacing Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is the most obvious personnel change to possibly jolt both the player in question and the five-man unit.
But there’s a real horse-and-cart dilemma at play here. The player needs more opportunity, but the coach wants him to earn his chances first.
“As a player, you try to look to contribute as best you can,” Skinner said. “Everyone wants opportunity to do that. You’ve just got to kind of keep working. Obviously, it’s a long year.
“Personally and as a team, we’ve been looking for that little moment where we can go on a little bit of a run and sting some momentum together. That’s just what you work towards.”
Skinner has been an exceptional marksman throughout his career, but he’s mostly been amiss this season.
He’s had a shooting percentage in the double digits in eight of his 14 seasons before this one. Included in that run was a career-high 14.9 percent when he posted his only 40-goal campaign in 2018-19. He’s scored on 12.6, 14.5 and 11.6 percent of his shots on net over the last three full seasons, starting in 2021-22.
Logically, the prospects of either Draisaitl or McDavid passing him the puck should have made him more dangerous. It hasn’t worked out that way with or without the two superstars feeding him.
Skinner has taken 61 shots on target and beaten a goalie on four occasions, a 6.6 shooting percentage. He had 357 goals entering this season thanks to an 11.2 percent shooting efficiency.
“The reason he scores goals is because he is a good shooter and he takes good, quality shots and he’s not shooting from the perimeter for rebounds,” Knoblauch said. “Maybe he won’t hit his average shooting percentage because he’s got off to such a slow start. But he’s going to get closer to that average than what he is now.”
Shot quality might be to blame. Per NHL Edge, 26 of those attempts — or 42.6 percent — have come from outside the home plate area.
The NHL has been skewing more in favour of offence in recent seasons, but it’s still not as easy to score from distance or bad angles.
“There’s been games, there’s been stretches, where I feel like I’ve gotten looks and just haven’t capitalized. And then there have been games where I haven’t gotten as many looks as I’d like,” Skinner said. “You want to try to create as many opportunities as you can and then, when you do get them, you want to try and finish.”
It’s not like Skinner isn’t getting chances. He ranks third on the Oilers with 5.19 individual expected goals at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick, behind McDavid and Zach Hyman.
The production hasn’t come.
“There’s a guy that can turn that around quite a bit,” Knoblauch said. “He’s been known to score goals.
“He can make a difference to our team.”
Skinner isn’t the only free-agent signee who’s had an underwhelming start with the Oilers.
Viktor Arvidsson, pencilled in as Draisaitl’s other winger, has two goals and five points in 16 games. He’s missed the last six games with an undisclosed injury and will sit out at least two more.
Arvidsson’s production has come exclusively from a top-six role, though, as he’s been tethered to Draisaitl’s right side when in the lineup. There are two ways to look at that. One is that shows how low Arvidsson’s production is in relation to Skinner’s. The other, however, is how much more Arvidsson is trusted compared to Skinner.
There’s clearly more headway for Skinner to make starting Friday when the Oilers come out of their mini-break in Salt Lake City, Utah.
“When you evaluate your game, you’re looking at what you’re doing individually in terms of winning battles and creating chances,” Skinner said. “Usually, when you’re doing enough good things, good things tend to happen or the good results seem to come.
“I keep trying to work towards that.”
(Photo: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
