This season, the Pittsburgh Penguins decided to make a major shift in their goaltending department, trading Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin to the Edmonton Oilers in return for Stuart Skinner and Brett Kulak.
Jarry, who was once thought of as the potential goaltender of the future for the Penguins, wasn’t able to string together consistent enough performances, and was even waived during the previous season and spent time with the American Hockey League affiliate Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins before eventually coming back to the NHL.
However, Jarry is now with the Oilers and has several years remaining on his contract, while Skinner can become an unrestricted free agent on July 1. While it initially appeared as though the Penguins would not be bringing Skinner back on another contract, one notable Penguins Insider believes that there is still a pathway that Skinner will remain with the club.
Is There A Pathway For Stuart Skinner To Return To The Pittsburgh Penguins Next Season?
Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe of The Athletic recently wrote that while it would be considered a “long shot”, there is still a pathway for the Penguins to opt to re-sign Skinner, whom the club reportedly “loved” having in the dressing room after his acquisition.
“Goaltender Stuart Skinner, acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in last season’s Tristan Jarry trade, appears unlikely to return to the Penguins. It would take a long shot — trading Artūrs Šilovs — before July 1, when Skinner becomes an unrestricted free agent,” Yohe wrote. “If they dealt Šilovs, the Penguins would be open to teaming Skinner with Sergei Murashov next season. The Penguins loved having Skinner in the locker room.”
Yohe continued:
“Still, smart money says they will re-sign Šilovs, a talented pending restricted free agent whose postseason performance seemed to get the organization’s attention.
While the Penguins’ leadership was delighted with Skinner’s contributions in the locker room, it believed his performance was simply adequate; one team source called his physical attributes “limited” and suggested that Murashov and Šilovs have higher ceilings.”
But ultimately, Yohe predicted that Skinner won’t be back in Pittsburgh next season, despite the rising salary cap.
“Skinner isn’t incredible, but he’s solid and has a ton of playoff experience for a 27-year-old,” he concluded. “The Penguins believe someone will pay Skinner serious money over multiple years. Just don’t expect it to be them, given the wealth of goaltending talent on the way from AHL Wilkes-Barre.”
Stuart Skinner Was Acquired By The Penguins In December From The Oilers
Despite having been in net for large portions of the Oilers’ consecutive runs to the Stanley Cup Final, the Oilers parted ways with Skinner when they sent him to the Penguins in December.
During his time with the Penguins, Skinner compiled a record of 12-9-5 with a 2.99 goals-against average, a .885 save percentage, and no shutouts.
While he started the first three games of the 2026 postseason for Pittsburgh, he was eventually replaced by Šilovs for the final three games; Šilovs was acquired by the Penguins from the Canucks last offseason.
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