How Stuart Skinner compares to other goalies who reached 100 wins with the Oilers

Tommy Salo

During the 1999-2000 season, Ranford served as the backup to Tommy Salo, one of the most underrated netminders in Oilers’ history. Drafted 118th overall by the New York Islanders, the Oilers traded Mats Lindgren and a pick in the 1999 draft to acquire him in March of 1999.

In his first full season with the Oilers, Salo posted a .914 save percentage and 2.33 goals against average in 70 games played, finishing the year with a 27-28-13 record. That season, he made the All-Star game and finished sixth in Vezina voting.

He followed up the 1999-2000 campaign with another solid year in 2000-01, where he had a 36-25-12 record and .904 save percentage, finishing seventh in Vezina voting. Salo earned his way to his second All-Star Game in 2001-02, posting a .913 save percentage in 69 games with a 30-28-10 record.

Unfortunately, Salo’s play slipped in 2002-03, managing to pick up 29 wins, but finishing with a sub-.900 save percentage for the first time in his Oilers career. After 44 games in 2003-04, he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche and made just five more appearances in the NHL.

With the Oilers, Salo had a 147-128-51 record in 333 games, with a .906 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average. What could’ve been if he hadn’t allowed that long-ranged goal in the 2002 Olympics?

Andy Moog

Circling back to the aforementioned Ranford trade, the Oilers sent Andy Moog to the Bruins in return for Ranford. Drafted in the seventh round of the 1980 draft, Moog is one of three Oilers’ netminders with 100 wins that was drafted by the team.

The Penticton, British Columbia native played 15 games between his first two seasons, before playing 50 games in the 1982-83 season. That year, Moog finished with a 33-8-7 record, finishing fifth in Vezina voting.

His playing time decreased in 1983-84, playing 38 games with a 27-8-1 record. Moog played a similar number of games in the 1984-85 season, finishing the season with a 22-9-3 record. The netminder finished seventh in Vezina voting and was a first-time All-Star.

Moog was also an All-Star in 1985-86, playing 47 games where he had a 27-9-7 record, finishing eighth in Vezina voting. His final season with the Oilers was in 1986-87, where he once again finished eighth in Vezina voting thanks to a 28-11-3 record, the lone season as an Oiler where he had double-digit losses.

In seven years with the Oilers, Moog had a 143-53-21 record. He played six seasons with the Bruins, four with the Dallas Stars, and one with the Montréal Canadiens, finishing his career after the 1997-98 season.

Cam Talbot

All four of the goalies already mentioned are intertwined in a way. Fuhr is their best goalie, but Ranford took over for him and even won a Conn Smythe for his performance in the 1990 postseason. Ranford was acquired from the Bruins in exchange for Moog, who was Fuhr’s prior backup. When Ranford returned to the Oilers late in his career, he backed up Tommy Salo.

There’s no link to Cam Talbot. After Salo’s departure, the Oilers were left searching for a netminder, eventually landing on Dwayne Roloson. While Roloson didn’t reach 100 wins with the Oilers, he did help lead them to the 2006 Stanley Cup Final before his injury.

After Roloson, the Oilers signed Nikolai Khabibulin, who didn’t work out well for them. By this time, Devan Dubnyk was playing well and earned the starter role, until he struggled to start the 2013-14 season and was promptly traded, a very poor decision, even at the time.

The Oilers experimented with five other netminders in 2013-14, an incredibly fascinating season for the Oilers. After another season of trying to find their goalie, they finally pulled the trigger on a netminder at the 2015 draft, acquiring Cam Talbot.

Talbot posted a .917 save percentage in his first season as an Oiler, a .919 save percentage in his second season, and a .908 save percentage in his third season. Unfortunately, Talbot struggled in 2018-19, where he had an .893 save percentage before the Oilers shipped him off to the Philadelphia Flyers for Anthony Stolarz.

In 227 games with the Oilers, Talbot finished with 104 wins, 95 losses, and 19 overtime losses. His .912 save percentage as an Oiler is the second-highest for any Oiler netminder with 20 or more games played.

Talbot’s best season by far was in 2016-17, because on top of a .919 save percentage, the netminder played 73 games and finished fourth in Vezina voting. Now 38 years old, Talbot is still active as he plays with the Detroit Red Wings.

Notable goalies without 100 wins as an Oiler

The netminder with the highest save percentage as an Oiler with more than 20 games played is Mike Smith. Unfortunately, Smith finished with just 56 wins in the 99 games he played. Mikko Koskinen spent time as his backup, and he finished with 83 wins, the seventh-most in Oilers history.

Roloson was the last player born in the 1960s to play in the NHL, and he finished his Oilers’ career with 78 regular season wins in 193 games played. Curtis Joseph is another notable Oilers’ netminder who didn’t finish with 100 wins with the team, finishing with just 76 in 177 games with the Oilers.

In 171 games, Dubnyk finished with 61 wins and a .910 save percentage, the third-highest for any Oilers’ netminder with 20 games played for the team. I can’t emphasize just how poor the decision was to trade him, even at the time.

Lastly, current Oiler Calvin Pickard ranks 12th in all-time Oiler wins, as he’s won 35 games as an Oiler in 61 games.