After months and months of speculation that the Edmonton Oilers would make a desperately-needed upgrade to their goaltending, they made a move today that still has left multiple fans and even NHL Insiders scratching their heads.
The Oilers acquired goaltender Tristan Jarry from the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday morning along with Sam Poulin in exchange for goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a second-round draft pick in the 2029 NHL Draft.
It brings an end to the era of Skinner in the Oilers’ crease, which included two consecutive appearances in the Stanley Cup Final that would ultimately fall short against the Florida Panthers but far too many inconsistent outings in both regular season and postseason play.
However, the acquisition of Jarry isn’t exactly being viewed as a major upgrade for the Oilers, as he’s had his own issues with consistency and was even waived by the Penguins and relegated to the American Hockey League affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins around this time last season.
Jarry’s numbers so far this season are encouraging, as he’s gone 9-3-1 with a 2.66 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage and has posted one shutout. Meanwhile, Skinner has gone 11-8-4 with a 2.83 goals-against average, a .891 save percentage, and has two shutouts.
His final appearance with Edmonton took place on Thursday evening, as he made 27 saves in a 4-1 win over the visiting Detroit Red Wings.
Jarry is expected to earn the start for the Oilers when they face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday.
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Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman explains his logic behind acquiring Tristan Jarry for Stuart Skinner
Oilers general manager Stan Bowman, who had been facing increasing pressure to make a move in order to maximize the window of superstar Connor McDavid while he’s in Edmonton, said that the move was more about needing a change rather than a reflection of Skinner.
“I think it’s not so much a comment on Stuart Skinner, it’s just really maybe time for something different here,” Bowman said of the trade. “But I think we wanted to make sure that the person we were bringing in, we felt confident.”
Meanwhile, Bowman believes Jarry to be a “solid goaltender”.
“Yeah, well 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 up until last season, so certainly that’s something we looked into and wanted to see how he started this year. We’ve watched him very closely and have been impressed with his performance over the course of his career. I think he’s shown to be a very solid goaltender.”
Time will tell if this gamble by Bowman will pay off, or if Jarry’s previous struggles begin to resurface and Edmonton finds itself back at square one.
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Edmonton is now on the hook for Jarry’s contract for three more seasons
While Skinner is a pending unrestricted free agent at this season’s end, that’s not the case for Edmonton’s new goaltender.
Jarry is in the midst of a five-year, $26.875 million deal with a $5.375 million cap hit. Because the Penguins didn’t retain any of Jarry’s salary in the trade, his full cap hit is now absorbed on Edmonton’s books.
Edmonton Oilers GM Stan Bowman clears the air on why he finally traded Stuart Skinner