How Oilers’ Body Language Is Hurting Stuart Skinner

This isn’t just optics. It’s psychology. Confidence in goaltending is fragile, especially in a high-pressure Canadian market. And when the body language of star players conveys frustration or blame, in plain view, it becomes more than just a glance. It becomes a weight.

Skinner Is a Goalie Who Earned His Place

Skinner didn’t inherit his job—he earned it. Drafted and developed by the Oilers, he wasn’t supposed to be the #1 goalie. That job belonged to Jack Campbell, who signed a five-year deal to solve the team’s crease issues. But Campbell faltered, and Skinner stepped up.

In his rookie season, he held the net, started in the playoffs, and gave the Oilers a fighting chance. He’s young. He’s local. He’s cost-controlled. Most importantly, the NHL All-Star is not why the team lost to the Florida Panthers in their second straight Cup Final appearance. Although blaming him might be the simple way to explain why an overabundance of ‘Western Conference Champion’ t-shirts and hats remain unsold throughout the city, there is more to the story.

The Team Around Him Hasn’t Been Stable: Oiler Resets & Reboots

Ask Ryan Nugent-Hopkins what it’s like to be an Oiler. Since being drafted by the organization in 2011, he’s played for nine head coaches and seven GMs. Here are some names that Nugent-Hopkins has seen come and go: (Head Coaches) Tom Renney, Ralph Kruger, Dallas Eakins, Todd Nelson, Todd McLellan, Ken Hitchcock, Dave Tippett, Jay Woodcroft; (GMs) Steve  Tambellini, Craig  MacTavish, Peter  Chiarelli, Keith  Gretzky (interim), Ken  Holland, Jeff  Jackson (interim).

This is a striking indicator of the Oilers’ organizational instability throughout his career. If history has taught us anything, Kris Knoblauch (head coach) and Stan Bowman (GM) might soon be searching for new employment. There is no hard evidence to support this notion; it is based solely on recent trends, a simple point to note the instability that has occurred within the Oilers organization. Evidently, there’s been no long-term vision—just resets and reboots. So, Skinner isn’t just dealing with pressure—he’s dealing with a franchise that often doesn’t know what it wants.

The Oilers’ Culture Question

There is a narrative that the Oilers are only a goaltender away from winning the Stanley Cup. A goalie away? What if that narrative is wrong? What if the Oilers need, instead, a culture shift?

Great teams rally around their goaltenders. They pick them up when they stumble. They fight for them in the corners. And they support them not just in media scrums, but in subtle moments on the ice—a tap on the pads, a glance that says, We’ve got you.

Clearly, some players have shown those signs. But not everyone. When a goalie is left, after pulling the puck from the net, to read cold shoulders from top-tier players, that’s not a performance issue—that seems to be a cultural one. And this is worth considering from within the Oilers’ dressing room. This is not, in any way, a suggestion that teammates should not hold each other accountable; it is simply a notion that highlights a “when, where, and how” issue at hand.

If Skinner Leaves Edmonton, Watch Him Lift the Cup Somewhere Else

Goalies take time. They wobble. They develop. The Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky wasn’t always a playoff hero. Bouncing through the Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers organizations, often stumbling through well-advertised conflicts with coaches, before becoming a two-time Stanley Cup Champion in Florida, he found his A-game again.

Yaroslav Askarov couldn’t make the Nashville Predators’ NHL roster. John Gibson’s career was written off, only to experience a resurgence, while also being the focus of conversation (a few weeks ago) as ‘the guy the Oilers need’. All fans can agree that a complete list of goalies could be added here.

So, if Edmonton gives up on Skinner too soon, the team that is currently knocking on Lord Stanley’s door might end up watching him lift the Stanley Cup somewhere else—strong point, but worth considering. Because make no mistake: Skinner has the talent. He has the skill set. He has a willingness to help bring the Cup back to his hometown, where he was born, raised, and where he helped other Edmonton-born and raised young hockey players hoist provincial playoff championships.

Ultimately, he has given Edmonton kids and fans alike a chance to cheer on someone who grew up in the nosebleed sections watching “Rollie the Goalie” (Dwayne Roloson) lead the Oilers on the highly memorable 2006 Cup run.

What Skinner Needs from the Oilers

Skinner can be the answer, but he needs to be managed better. What he does not need is the revolving door to the bench, allowing a goalie who signed to be an American Hockey League netminder (Calvin Pickard) to take the net with absolutely no pressure and then ‘punch above his weight class’. Skinner has the pressure; Pickard did not. Don’t for one minute believe that this ‘revolving door’ does not play into their play. Enter the psychology of goaltending. So, back to the point: Skinner can win! Skinner will win! The question remains: For which NHL team?

What Skinner needs now more than ever, and throughout the 2025-26 season, is something difficult to come by in the hockey-crazed city of Edmonton: belief. Belief from himself, belief from his coaches, and, most importantly, belief from his teammates. And that can begin with on-ice body language when a puck enters the net.

After all, pucks will go in, including soft goals. The challenge is for the Oilers to decide that “Skinner is our guy”! It’s time to let the rope out a little bit more for a goalie who is still supposed to be a backup for two more seasons behind the $25 million Campbell. 

[Note: I’d like to thank Brent Bradford (PhD) for his help co-authoring this post. His profile can be found at www.linkedin.com/in/brent-bradford-phd-3a10022a9]