Oilers' two biggest free-agent signings can't even crack lineup in playoffs

Arvidsson appeared in Edmonton’s first nine playoff contests, scoring once and adding three assists, before being made a healthy scratch for Game 4 against Vegas when he was replaced in the lineup by Kasperi Kapanen, who himself had been a healthy scratch for the entire playoffs to that point.

On Monday, when the Oilers had their final practice before departing for Dallas, Kapanen was on Edmonton’s second line with Leon Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin, while Kane was alongside Adam Henrique and Connor Brown on the third line. Arvidsson and Skinner were among the extra skaters.

Kane and Kapanen making impact

There is no immediate impetus for Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch to get Arvidsson and Skinner back in his lineup. Their replacements have both made a tremendous impact for Edmonton, which is the hottest team in hockey, going 8-1 over its last nine games.

Kane hasn’t missed a beat since coming back, contributing four goals and three assists in 10 games. The 6-foot-2, 218-pound power forward provides a physical presence that Skinner lacks; he ranks third on the Oilers this postseason with 43 hits.

Kapanen returned to the lineup like a bull charging out of the gates; in just two games, he’s racked up eight shots and eight hits. He’s got Edmonton’s biggest goal of the postseason thus far, notching the series-winner against Vegas when he scored in overtime of Game 5.

Could have seen this coming

In retrospect, it maybe shouldn’t be all that surprising to see Arvidsson and Skinner sitting in the press-box at the most crucial time of the year.

Skinner had been bought out by his previous team, the Buffalo Sabres, who elected to pay him a total of nearly $15 million to go away, rather than $9 million for each of the next three seasons to stick around. Arvidsson, meanwhile, was coming off a back injury that limited him to just 18 games in the 2023-24 regular season with Los Angeles.

The initial excitement over their signings was mostly because of the gaudy offensive numbers each had put up over their lengthy careers: Arvidsson with five seasons of at least 20 goals, including two with more than 30 tallies; and Skinner with 10 seasons scoring at least 20 times, including six with over 30 goals.  

But scoring ability didn’t address Edmonton’s weak spots. The Oilers already were among the highest scoring teams in the league, ranking fourth in the 2023-24 regular season with 3.56 goals per game and third in the 2024 Playoffs with 3.44 goals per game, nor did they need to add more 30-somethings to a roster that was already one of the oldest in the NHL. Arvidsson celebrated his 32^nd birthday last month, while Skinner turned 33 on May 16.

Neither Arvidsson nor Skinner contributed quite to the level that was hoped during the 2024-25 season. Arvidsson, who missed 15 games in November and December with an injury, finished the season with 15 goals and 12 assists, averaging 0.40 points per game, his fewest since 2015-16. Skinner appeared in 72 contests, scoring 16 times for an average of 0.22 goals per game, the second lowest of his 15-season NHL career.

Would it be fair to say that the signings of Arvidsson and Skinner were failures? That might be a bit extreme. All that matters is that the Oilers are back where they wanted to be, among the final four teams left playing in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Meanwhile, Arvidsson and Skinner are ready to draw back into the lineup, should circumstances call for it. And most teams would love to have two veterans of their caliber in the role of “next man up” this deep into the postseason.