The Edmonton Oilers couldn’t bring the Stanley Cup to Canada after falling short for two consecutive seasons to a familiar foe: the Florida Panthers. Among the many issues that plagued the Oilers, goaltending problems stood out like a sore thumb. Stuart Skinner’s performance during the crucial final games was underwhelming, and appeals to oust him soon followed.
The Oilers’ 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Seattle Kraken in preseason was hardly the outcome that fans hoped for, and it was not long before they raided the comments section of Skinner’s post-game media availability on X, launching scathing critiques, alleging that the goalie could become the primary reason why Connor McDavid could decide to part ways with the franchise.
Could Stuart Skinner’s Poor Showing Motivate McDavid to Leave the Oilers? Fans Weigh In
Skinner made his preseason debut, and so did Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Trent Frederic. If you zoom out a little, it wasn’t just Skinner; the entire team seemed lackadaisical. Frederic showed up like anyone would have wanted him to, notwithstanding the high ankle injury from last season that has stayed with him. The 27-year-old lined up with McDavid and Draisaitl: an arrangement coach Kris Knoblauch wants to retain when the season kicks off in October.
Skinner was merely average, stopping 15 out of the 18 shots over 60 minutes, but fans were unforgiving, given the recency of the memory of his Stanley Cup slip-up.
The netminder stated that he wanted to maintain the right attitude, “Yeah, I think one of the biggest things is just my attitude. I think, you know, just trying to stay cool, calm and collected. I think, I mean, goals are going to go in. Some are going to be bad and some are going to be good. And as a goalie, you kind of just got to be able to bounce back off of those.”
One fan alleged that one day, Skinner will be responsible if McDavid parts ways with the Oilers. “The face that’s gonna cost Edmonton McDavid. Soak it in, folks.” Another expressed a similar opinion: “This horrible excuse for a starting goalie is going to be the sole reason McDavid leaves Edmonton!!”
A third fan confessed that although they weren’t happy with Skinner’s performance, they were glad because the goalie took full responsibility. The social media user followed up with an appeal to Skinner to improve his game. “I’m not happy with his play tonight, but he’s taking accountability here and it’s only one preseason game that didn’t count for anything. I really hope he somehow gets it together, because we can’t go through another season with poor goaltending. Come on, Stuey, please…”
The argument that McDavid might leave the Oilers because of Skinner has little merit. Notwithstanding the goalie’s performance, the Edmonton captain will likely sign a short-term contract with the team.