Would there even be a playoff race for the Edmonton Oilers without Stuart Skinner: 9 Things

It is there, as they say, for “them to go get. The Oilers emerge from the NHL All-Star break with a legitimate chance at winning the Western Conference. That is if things go well. And while the team appears to be on a roll, this season should have taught us by now not to assume.

That and more in this week’s return of…

9 Things

8. Darnell Nurse’s 3 assists against Chicago gives him 157 for his career as a member of the Oilers. That is 5^th all-time on the franchise by a D-man, passing Janne Niinimaa. Steve Smith is 4^th (172), Charlie Huddy 3^rd (287), Kevin Lowe 2^nd (309), and of course…Paul Coffey 1^st at 669. Nurse’s detractors like to pretend he is not one of the best this club has ever had.

7. Barring injury, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is also on the verge of a significant franchise milestone. Another 28 games and The Nuge will pass Shawn Horcoff on the all-time list. Glenn Anderson (845) and Mark Messier (851) are less than a season ahead of him after that. Then, Ryan will be in the same longevity conversation as Ryan Smyth (971) and Mr. Lowe, yet again (1,037).

6. It is as if the penny has finally dropped for Oilers prospect Rafael Lavoie. That happens with young players sometimes. The 22-year-old is 12-11-23 in 32 games this season. He had just a few more than that (26) in 56 games last year. And Lavoie has been a point per game over his last 15. If the Oilers current RW’s continue to under-perform, is it out of the realm of possibility that Lavoie gets a late season look?

5. I do believe Ken Holland has a lot of irons in the fire. But at least some of them hang on the health of Kailer Yamamoto. If he is indeed good to go, Yamamoto’s availability probably makes the Jesse Puljujarvi contract expendable. But losing both right wings in a playoff race could be a fair bit to make up for, considering that would not be the only need on this roster. I think the Oilers believe in Yamamoto the player. The wild card at least with me and I suspect with the club too…is his ongoing inability to stay healthy.

4. Many accurate things have been published about Bobby Hull over the past week. I will only add this to the legendary player’s passing: While on the Flames broadcast crew in the 1990’s we were lucky enough to have both Bobby Hull and Brett Hull in the same studio for an interview. The significance of that moment was not lost on me then and never will be. It was special, in part, because you got the distinct feeling in the room that it was special for the Hull’s as well. As broadcasters, we were merely conduits in the studio that night.

3. Speaking of the Black Hawks, Jonathan Toews’s name keeps getting mentioned in association with the Oilers. Duncan Keith’s ongoing involvement with the Oilers would only help grease that wheel if there were a fit on the player and his price tag. And as a role player on a contender if think the Hawks captain could provide contributions comparable to what Keith did in Edmonton both on the ice and off. But Toews is not the only Chicago player that may be of interest in Edmonton. More on that in a minute.

2. The Oilers are considering adding a forward in their bottom 6. Someone who can be reliable in his own end, win a faceoff, chip in on the PK and (ideally) also provide a bit more sandpaper to the lineup. The club had a conversation with Chicago about Sam Lafferty. Obviously, nothing has come of that, at least not in the short term. It is my belief that the Black Hawks are asking a lot for a 4^th Rounder-turn-role-player. But that he has another year on his deal at that price ($1.15m) is attractive. Noel Acciari in St. Louis is another name out there, a right shot center who is about 50% on the dot. His salary is a shade higher but he is an expiring UFA. Worth watching.

1. I mentioned off the top of this week’s 9 Things column that the Edmonton Oilers are in a decent position. Well, I submit that they would not be anywhere near that had it not been for the performance to date of Stuart Skinner. In a recent Cult of Hockey Podcast on the first half of the season where four of us opined on how things have gone so far, Skinner was my “good thing”. I went so far as to suggest the Oilers may not even be in a position to gain a playoff spot had it not been for Skinner’s splendid performance in the first half. Skinner has not done it alone. A number of Oilers are having terrific, career-best campaigns. But without him, at least some of those results maye have gone for not.

Goals Against Average is not at all the perfect goaltending statistic. But it can tell important stories. In Edmonton’s case, there is a 0.42 goals per game gap between Skinner and Jack Campbell. Excluding empty net goals, the Oilers have won 8 one-goal games this year with Skinner in the net. Going strictly by GAA, can we assume that instead of 16 points in those games the Oilers might only have gotten 8 without Skinner minding the twine? In that scenario, they could have just 52 points and be 5 back of Calgary in 5^th spot in the Pacific.

Sure, Ken Holland may have dealt for another goalie had Skinner not stepped up. But that would have been yet another asset(s) that the General Manager would have to address issues later. Yet another save for All-Star Stuart Skinner.

Look, Jack Campbell certainly appears to have regained a modicum of his game. And good for him and good for the team if that continues. But it does not erase just how valuable his fellow netminder was to this team over 50 games.