Stuart Skinner is all chill, man.

He’s long said he isn’t a social media guy — smart with Twitter or X often being a sewer — so he doesn’t know what some people are saying about this guy who grew up in Sherwood Park and his play.

The vocal rabble who wonder why the Edmonton Oilers didn’t make a goalie change this summer or at last season’s trade deadline, can’t get a better goalie, even though Skinner’s won a lot — 91 regular season wins and 26 more in the playoffs the last three seasons.

Fact is, Skinner is a good, but not great goalie at the NHL level.

Has more to give

Still only 26, albeit with clear bobbles in the playoffs the last two years, saved by his backup Calvin Pickard when stumbling. Oilers fans may want somebody better, but to play the apologist, he lost the last two Stanley Cup Finals to Sergei Bobrovsky, who is on his way to the Hall of Fame.

Skinner welcomed the media Thursday after a Captain’s skate, jovial as always, comfortable in his own skin, even if he’s been burned by a segment of Oilers fans.

Skinner knows he has more to give, and he’s still young by NHL goalie standards, at 174 regular-season games. He’s also a salary cap bargain at $2.6 million AAV for the Oilers, with one year left on his contract.

He craves a Stanley Cup ring and wants to be on the 2026 Olympic team, showing enough from October through December to get there.

Over the summer, Skinner found himself working with a new goalie coach, Peter Aubry, who replaced long-time sounding board and confidant Dustin Schwartz. He’s fine with that, even if he was with Schwartz since 2017.

He knows he’s far from a finished product. This is not a guy who walks by mirrors. He’s looked in a few.

There has been no move from the Oilers to get him signed to a new contract, with Skinner an unrestricted free-agent next summer. That’s fine with him.

The Oilers are in a wait and see. Maybe they try and trade for an older starter — say, Ilya Sorokin or Juuse Saros — at the trade deadline for a huge price, both are 30 on long-term deals and way more expensive.

We’ll have to wait on that, but, again, Skinner is all chill.

‘Peter’s been fantastic’

The new goalie coach? Is Aubry supposed to unlock something that Schwartz couldn’t, change the way Skinner plays, or thinks? Time will tell. But if the Oilers remain sold on Skinner, Schwartz became the fall guy, a change maybe needed.

“Ever since he was hired we’ve had some good phone calls. He’s gone through my video the last couple of years, reviewing the way I like to play and how he sees it. Peter’s been fantastic, super cool, calm, collected,” said Skinner.

“It’s been an awesome so far.”

Is a new coach supposed to make massive changes, or just tweak things?

Is Skinner supposed to suddenly become more acrobatic? Or just use his 6’4” frame more efficiently, work at his play east-west, on the rush 5-on-5, and in the crease, which needs improvement?

“I want to set the bar high this year. I want to go to the Olympics and be a goalie for Team Canada and get back to the Stanley Cup (Final) and finish the job this year,” said Skinner.

Team Canada management head Doug Armstrong says it’s far from written in stone as to who the three goaltenders will be wearing the Maple Leaf, although you’d have to think Jordan Binnington, who helped Canada win the 4 Nations tournament last year would be one of them.

The coaching change to Aubry, who worked with the Chicago Blackhawks organization before this opportunity, means a new voice in practices.

“I’ve been coached by Schwartzie the last eight years. But it’s the same concepts, just stop the puck. I’ve been a few years now (NHL starter) and I want to feed off that experience,” said Skinner.

“This is my first time going through it (coaching change) but it’s been an easy transition. He’s brought some good points up for me to think about. Name of the game is working on things to get better.”

Skinner certainly needs a stronger start to this season than last when he only won one of the first five games if he wants to impress the Olympic team selectors, keep Oilers GM Stan Bowman in his corner and his critical fan base at bay after allowing 4.25 more goals than the league average in all situations, per Natural Stat Trick.

“The type of experience I’ve had I know how to get into a game, I know how to win games, win games in challenging situations, and I’ve been able to bounce back from tough situations,” he said.

He knows he has to be more efficient in net, more consistent.

“I have to work on my movements in the net. Sometimes you can get sloppy out there, especially when you’re tired,” said Skinner.

“I worked on a lot of things this summer… getting in better shape, getting my core (muscles) turned on more so you can stay strong for a full 60 (minutes).”

Mentally he needed a reset, too.

“Losing the Cup two years in a row is definitely challenging, Being able to be mentally clear was the biggest thing, clearing my mind so I’m in a happy space. I’ve done that,” he said.

‘Looking for a strong season’

Skinner’s salary, considering he’s the starter, is woefully low by No. 1 standards. Anaheim’s Lukas Dostal, 25, with 121 career games in Anaheim and 42 wins, just signed a five-year contract for a $6.5 million AAV. Skinner clearly should be in that ballpark when it comes time for his new contract.

Anything going on for an extension? Nope, it’s let’s wait and see.

“Not really. I’m just looking for a strong season,” said Skinner, who knows Connor McDavid’s extension is front burner, as well as defenceman Jake Walman, who’s slated for unrestricted free agency next summer, too.

“I just want a really good start to the season to give myself a chance to do it (be on the Canadian team)… I mean everyone wants to play in Olympics.”

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