Clock ticking for Oilers to solve goaltending woes

EDMONTON – Stan Bowman, you're officially in charge.

It's time for the hockey world to stop talking about how hard it is for hockey players. Edmonton Oilers improve the goaltending situation and start talking about how the Oilers general manager found a solution.

It's time to stop talking about how Stu Skinner's teammates have lost faith in his game and start a new conversation about the new No. 1 – the guy the Oilers know can take them to the place they've been trying to get to for five years.

It's all over for Skinner as the undisputed No. 1 in Edmonton. Completed.

He may be part of the whole thing, but Bowman needs to find a better goalie to partner with Skinner—period. If that also makes Skinner a better goalie, then bravo.

“You always have to earn trust,” Skinner said Monday after Saturday's 9-1 home loss to Colorado, in which he played mediocrely and was ejected. “It's not something that's just given to you. No matter who you are, no matter what situation you're in, you always try to earn the trust of your teammates.”

Alas, he lost that trust.

Two seasons ago Stuart Skinner became one of the top ten goaltenders in the National Hockey League, leading his team to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, where they lost 2–1. The consensus is that he will improve and give Edmonton enough goaltending to win a Stanley Cup or two in the future.

Then, last season, Skinner's numbers plummeted. His save percentages have increased from .905 and 2.62 averages two seasons ago to .896 and 2.81 last year. Once again, Sergei Bobrovsky was the best goaltender in the Cup Final, and again the Oilers lost to Florida.

So when this season opened, the objective, dispassionate observer thought, “Let's see who the real Stu Skinner is.”

He lost some weight, found a new goalie coach, had a fresh outlook and a consistently positive attitude… Now, on November 10th, the numbers are 0.889 and 2.81. Either the real Stu Skinner showed up, or the real Stu Skinner was late to the party.

In any case, in the opinion of this dispassionate and objective observer, Skinner has lost the trust and faith of this hockey team. They no longer trust that he can get them to where they are trying to go.

“As a goalie, it doesn't really matter what happens,” Skinner said Monday, hours before tipoff against the Columbus Blue Jackets, with the cacophony of the Colorado game still bouncing off the walls. “It's just important if you can make the save at the right time and give your team a chance to win. Because winning is all that matters.”

“It’s not about save percentage,” he stressed. “It’s not about how I play (or) my personal game, it’s about my win column.

“It’s about the team’s win column.”

After six wins in 16 starts this season, the win column is thin. It's time for Bowman to get his check.

We know that teams that have better goalies than Skinner usually don't trade them.

We know that Juuse Saros, tied to the out-of-control Nashville franchise, has seven years left on his contract at $7.74 million per season.

We understand that St. Louis, where Jordan Binnington's record is worse than Skinner's, may not want to change their goalie. We know that Bowman missed out on Scott Wedgwood last year, who went to Colorado. We know it would probably be smart to pass on John Gibson, who is hitting .882 in Detroit and may have never wanted to come to Canada in the first place.

But it's time to stop talking about what didn't happen with this file.

It's time for Bowman to find a solution, not absolution. It's time to get down to business.

Here's what we respect about Skinner:

“Obviously I really didn't like that second goal in the last game,” he said of Cale Makar's wrist shot that beat his low blocker and left his team curled up in defeat. “I definitely have a lot of work to do here. I need to make some timely saves, some saves when we give up breaks (where). I have to be the guy who can make the save.

“In Dallas (4-3 penalty shootout loss), we need to make a save in the penalty shootout. Maybe that will give us an extra point.”

We've studied hundreds of NHL goalies over the years, and a significant portion of these goalies would never publicly diagnose their game in front of cameras in this way. So kudos to Skinner for doing this all the time, which is great.

But he does this all the time Not big. If you understand what we mean.

“There's only so much I can control. That's my job. My job is just to stop the puck, whether people like it or not,” Skinner said. “If I'm at my best, we always have a chance to win. If not, there's a good chance we'll lose. That's every goalkeeper in the league.”

Skinner, a hometown boy who was drafted and groomed by Edmonton, is starting to fit the profile of a player who may have to move on to find his best game. New team, new start.

Edmonton is a tough city when you're a goalie, and a large portion of the fanbase believes that goalies are the Oilers' weak link. Any Canadian city would fit this description.

At worst, Skinner needs a partner who can share some of the responsibility of being a No. 1. Not a guy like Calvin Pickard, who would be great as a backup – provided the starter is a legitimate No. 1 in the NHL.

Skinner is getting more and more difficult here, and he is not trying to get out of this situation.

“Nobody remembers saving,” he mused. “Usually everyone remembers goals scored. I remember goals scored too. That's kind of the life of a goalkeeper.

“You let in a tough squeaker, but your game is amazing. You feel on top of the world, but everyone else thinks you're terrible.”