It’s been a tough season for Edmonton Oilers goaltender Stuart Skinner, who suffered yet another loss courtesy of the San Jose Sharks on Nov. 9. It’s a considerable contrast to when he likely saved his team last season when Jack Campbell faltered. He took over the starting role in his rookie season, posted a 29-14-5 record, earned an All-Star Game appearance and was a rookie of the year candidate.
While many in the hockey world expected Skinner to take the next step in his development this season, the reality is that we’re seeing a sophomore slump, which refers to a player that has an impressive rookie season but encounters difficulties in their sophomore year.
It’s clear that he’s struggling as his numbers have dropped drastically from last season’s 2.73 goals-against average (GAA) and .914 save percentage (SV%) to this season’s 3.87 GAA and .854 SV%, though some could argue that the lacklustre play from the team in front of him contributes to that as well.
With that in mind, former Oilers’ legendary goaltender, Grant Fuhr, recently shared his insights into what Skinner might be going through, drawing from his ten-year experience manning the net in Edmonton.
Fuhr Shares Reasons Why Skinner May Be Struggling
Fuhr won 403 regular season games, captured the Vezina Trophy in 1988 and also won five Stanley Cups in Edmonton as a member of that powerhouse 80s team. He was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2003 and named one of the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players in 2017. Simply put, the man knows a thing or two about stopping pucks and winning games.
That said, Fuhr provided a glimpse on the “The Kevin Karius Show” of the struggles Skinner might be facing in his second year in the league:
“I struggled my second year, and Stuart’s going through a little bit of that right now, your second year is always your hardest year, because now the expectations go up after you’ve had a good first year and I think you end up thinking more than just reacting and you could see a little bit of that [against the Canucks]. There’s thinking going on, instead of just the read and react.”
– Grant Fuhr
So far this season, Skinner’s looked less than ordinary, hasn’t made the extra saves that his team desperately needs and has let in some questionable goals, like the one on Nov. 6 when the Vancouver Canucks’ Pius Suter got an easy one by him in the first period, taking the wind out of the Oilers’ sails.
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Yet, an intriguing detail Fuhr pointed out was when he said, “Expectations go up after you’ve had a good first year.” Now, think about that from Skinner’s point of view. The expectation wasn’t just to be even better than last season, but there was/is an expectation for him, from the entire hockey world, to be the goaltender that leads the famous Oilers to its first Stanley Cup in almost 33 years. Talk about pressure.
Moreover, the five-time Stanley Cup champion Fuhr, offered a suggestion on how Skinner could improve, saying, “Stuart for instance isn’t taking advantage of his size, you get him at the top of the crease, that’s a big man, there’s not a lot of target to shoot at and it’s habit, when things aren’t going well, you want to shrink back to your net, when in fact you should be moving forward a little bit and taking advantage of creating the optical illusion that you’re bigger than you are.”
To add to that, Fuhr offered a good perspective that suggests Skinner, and potentially the entire Oilers team, might be battling mental challenges, saying, “You don’t lose your talent when you come to the National Hockey League, that doesn’t go away, you get there because you have talent. At that level, it becomes about 80% mental.”
Still, if mental challenges are indeed the issue, one thing in Skinner’s favour that suggests a turnaround is possible is that we learned last season he works on the mental side of the game, such as reading self-help books in his spare time to strengthen his mindset.
The Oilers had their fingers crossed that between their goaltending duo of Skinner and Campbell, one would step up and offer consistency in the crease, but it’s been a disaster so far.
Oilers Have Been Linked to a Few Goaltenders Already
For the second time in as many seasons, Campbell, who has three years remaining on his contract that pays him $5 million annual average value (AAV), struggled in net with a 4.50 GAA and a .873 SV% in five NHL games. He recently cleared waivers, was assigned to the Bakersfield Condors and gave up four goals in his American Hockey League (AHL) season debut on Nov. 9.
Despite the loss against the Sharks on Nov. 9, Skinner had a decent outing and the hope moving forward is that he can regroup and provide decent goaltending for Edmonton and also, for Campbell to find his game in the AHL to be recalled at a later date.
Yet, it seems the Oilers’ brass is preparing for the worst and as the Hockey Writers’ Jim Parsons describes, a few netminders are being linked to Edmonton already, like Jordan Binnington, Carter Hart, Juuse Saros and Jake Allen.
Should the Oilers decide to pursue a new goaltender, whomever it may be, they have to offload Campbell’s contract and the price in order to do so will be quite hefty, so the hope is that Plan A works out for them and that Skinner can turn it around.
Overall, Fuhr is a believer that Skinner can succeed, having said, “I think as the year goes, he’s going to get better and better, it’s just a matter of figuring out his mindset and how he’s going to play.”
Do you feel Skinner can bounce back or is acquiring a new goaltender the best choice? Have your say in the comments below!