The Edmonton Oilers made a terrible trade on Friday morning (Dec. 12), acquiring goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Samuel Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins for Stuart Skinner, defenceman Brett Kulak, and a 2029 second-round pick. Edmonton also acquired defenceman Spencer Stastney from the Nashville Predators for a 2027 third-round pick, making Kulak expendable.
TRADE 🔄 The #Oilers have acquired goaltender Tristan Jarry & forward Samuel Poulin from the @penguins in exchange for goaltender Stuart Skinner, defenceman Brett Kulak & a second-round draft selection in 2029. https://t.co/30mRcsl4YD
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 12, 2025
Stastney is a 25-year-old left-shot defenceman with one goal and nine points in 30 games this season. The Illinois native is in the final season of his deal with a $825,000 cap hit. He’s a cheaper and younger replacement for Kulak, and that’s positive. Poulin is more of a long-term project, with two games for the Penguins this season and no points. The 24-year-old has two assists in 15 career NHL games.
Related: Oilers Acquire Tristan Jarry & Spencer Stastney In Multiple Trades
Jarry is the centrepiece of these deals. The 30-year-old netminder is having a bounce-back season, with a 2.66 goals-against average (GAA) and a .909 save percentage (SV%) through 14 games (13 starts). Goaltending has been Edmonton’s biggest concern, and finally, general manager Stan Bowman made a move to acquire one. But is it a good move?
Edmonton gave up a ton to acquire the former Edmonton Oil King, and they aren’t better now than they were yesterday. They got fleeced in this deal, and here’s why.
Penguins Retain No Salary
The Oilers gave up two roster players to make the money work, and that’s not wise for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations. They need to acquire depth, not get rid of it. Jarry was in the American Hockey League (AHL) for parts of last season, and he has two more years left on his deal worth $5.375 million.
His cap hit alone, and the term, should have reduced the cost to acquire him. Instead, Pittsburgh got an NHL goaltender, a third-pairing defenceman, and a second-round pick. That is some great work by Penguins general manager, Kyle Dubas.
While the Oilers needed a change between the pipes, the price was too high, especially with no salary retention involved. The Oilers would’ve been better off keeping Skinner and trading Kulak. Both players are pending unrestricted free agents (UFA), but trading them together for an inexperienced forward and an expensive goalie was unnecessary. It was even more unnecessary to add a second-round pick while taking on Jarry’s full contract. That’s what makes this look like a desperation move.
Jarry & Skinner Tandem Was Ideal
Trading for Jarry only made sense if he was going to be paired with Skinner, not replacing him. Jarry and Skinner as a tandem would have instilled more confidence than Jarry with Calvin Pickard, or Connor Ingram if he gets called up from the AHL. The Oilers needed a security blanket because if Jarry struggles in his new environment then what? Pickard has been borderline unplayable, with an abysmal 4.04 GAA and an .851 SV% through 10 games (eight starts), with only three wins.
Skinner has had a mediocre season, with a 2.83 GAA and a .891 SV%, but he improved recently, with a .900 SV% in four of his last five starts. The Edmonton native has performed better with someone pushing him for playing time, which is why a Jarry and Skinner tandem would have been exciting. Pickard wasn’t pushing him for starts, so Skinner was under immense pressure because he had no help. Goalies are inconsistent, so if one struggles, the other one must step up and do the job. Despite the criticism, fans and management should have had more faith in Skinner over Pickard.
There must be another trade coming because if the plan is to run Jarry and Pickard for the rest of the season, that’s not much of an upgrade over the previous tandem. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the Oilers wouldn’t make a lateral move for a goalie, but this is a lateral move. If Jarry had replaced Pickard, this would have been a great deal and an obvious upgrade. That’s not the case.
Hopefully, this works out for the best, and all players involved have successful fresh starts with their new teams. Do you like these moves? Was Jarry the right choice? Was the acquisition cost too high? Keep following The Hockey Writers for all your NHL content throughout the season.
