The Edmonton Oilers finally, after years of debate, made a trade to try and attempt their goaltending issues. On Friday morning, it was confirmed that they traded Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak, and a second-round pick in 2029 in exchange for Tristan Jarry and Sam Poulin.
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Though Oilers fans have been begging for a change in the crease for several years, the reaction to this trade has been quite negative. On paper, there is no denying the fact the Oilers lost this deal. In fact, general manager Stan Bowman might even know it. Every team in the NHL knew how desperate the Oilers were to upgrade their goaltending, and Friday’s trade proves just how hard it was for Bowman to attempt to rectify the position.
Overall, most would agree that Jarry does have a higher upside than Skinner. He’s played in two All-Star games, has two seventh-placed finishes for the Vezina Trophy, and has a solid .909 career save percentage (SV%). While he may have higher upside than Skinner, however, he’s also a major gamble.
Jarry Was Recently Viewed as a Buyout Candidate
The fact the Penguins were able to bring in a solid return for Jarry is quite impressive for GM Kyle Dubas. The 30-year-old was placed on waivers last season after some big-time struggles in the Pens crease. He went unclaimed, and was able to rejoin the Penguins a short time later. Still, he finished his season with an extremely disappointing 3.09 goals against average (GAA) and a .893 SV% in 36 appearances.
To Jarry’s credit, he seems to have rebounded so far in 2025-26. Through 14 games, he owns a 2.66 GAA and a .909 SV%. Those numbers are far stronger than Skinner’s, as he’s posted a 2.83 GAA along with a .891 SV% in 23 appearances. Despite Jarry having better numbers throughout his career, however, there is still reason for concern.
Part of that concern, of course, comes from the fact that Jarry struggled not only last season, but in 2023-24 as well. He’s said to be a very inconsistent goalie, which is exactly the same as what Skinner was throughout his Oilers tenure. Meanwhile, Skinner, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent this coming offseason, carries a cap hit of just $2.6 million. Jarry is under contract through 2027-28 on a contract that has a $5.375 million cap hit.
The other concern with Jarry is that he’s had trouble staying healthy in his career. Unlike Skinner, who never battled much of any injuries during his time in Edmonton, Jarry has missed a ton of time in a number of different seasons. Having him go down for any extended period of time and being forced to rely on Calvin Pickard would be a very troubling position for the Oilers.
The contract in itself is troubling too, of course. What if Jarry winds up coming into Edmonton and stinking up the joint for the remainder of the season? The thing with Skinner was that if he were to continue struggling, the Oilers could have simply walked away at the end of the season. That wouldn’t be possible with Jarry given his contract situation.
Also being overlooked in this deal is the fact that the Oilers were forced to part ways with Kulak. While all signs pointed towards the 31-year-old heading elsewhere in free agency, he was a very reliable piece for the organization. Despite struggling at times this season, he’s a player the Oilers have been able to use in all situations since he joined the team part way through the 2021-22 campaign.
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The Oilers were able to replace him, at least somewhat, as they made a second trade on Friday that saw them acquire defenceman Spencer Stastney from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2027 third-round pick. Stastney, 25, still has room for growth, but fans shouldn’t expect him to be as impactful as Kulak for the time being.
Oilers Needed to Do Something
You can certainly understand why Bowman made this deal. Not only were Skinner and Pickard both struggling, but the outside noise surrounding both goalies made it nearly impossible not to move one or the other. By all means, Jarry could wind up being fantastic in Edmonton. At the same time, though, there’s also a very real possibility he could struggle or go down with an injury. If either of those happen, this trade will be viewed as a disaster for Bowman and the Oilers.
