Jeff Skinner finding role with Oilers after up-and-down season
Oilers forward Jeff Skinner is making the adjustment rom being a top-line player to a bottom-six contributor coaches can trust to play without the puck.
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EDMONTON — Perhaps we underestimated — and by we, I mean you, me, and Edmonton Oilers CEO Jeff Jackson — just how long it would take for Jeff Skinner to fit in around here.
We were fixated on the fact Skinner had played 1,006 regular season games over 14 seasons without a playoff appearance on his resume.
But maybe we should have extrapolated on that, realizing that there may be more to it than meets the eye when it comes to a playoff newbie fitting into a dressing from where a post-season berth is not an accomplishment, but rather a stepping stone towards the only real goal that matters.
We all saw poor Leon Draisaitl slug through games with middle and bottom six left-wingers in recent seasons, and it seemed that a six-time 30-goal scorer like Skinner would fit like sour cream on perogies.
But perhaps we — meaning, Jackson and the Oilers scouts — should have analyzed Skinner’s game more closely, and realized that Skinner liked to carry the puck up ice the same way Draisaitl does.
And there’s only one puck…
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So, while we’re posing more questions than answers here, what about this one:
Maybe 60 games is a fair allotment of time for a 32-year-old who has played a certain way since being awarded the Calder Trophy as Rookie of the Year as a 19-year-old in Carolina, to transition into the player who will finish out that career. Kind of like Corey Perry is doing.
Could we say that maybe, just maybe, Jeff Skinner has found a way to contribute here in Edmonton — even if it looks nothing like the vision we all had in our heads back on July 1 when the acting GM Jackson signed him as a free agent?
Even if it came after a year in coach Kris Knoblauch’s dog house? And what must have seemed like a year as a healthy scratch, even though it was only a few games here and there?
“When you get put in the stands, there’s one of two ways you can go,” began defenceman Mattias Ekholm. “Either you feel sorry for yourself and don’t try to do the right things anymore, or…”
Ekholm’s thought trailed off.
“He’s been a super pro,” he said of Skinner. “He’s worked hard at morning skates or whatever — every chance he’s had. He’s never complained, and he’s back in the lineup, contributing now. That’s the way you should be handling stuff. I give him all the credit in the world.”
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Skinner found his way back onto Draisaitl’s wing again a few games ago in New Jersey, but was demoted to the fourth line the next game. A couple of games later he forced another promotion, this time onto Connor McDavid’s line.
He lasted a couple of games there until McDavid got hurt. Now, Skinner is producing on a unit with Mattias Janmark and Connor Brown, in a “have hands, will travel” campaign that has taken him up, down, and all the way out of the Oilers lineup at times.
Give him credit, he’s kept his chin up and been the kind of teammate who gets second, third and fourth chances.
“I think you should come to the rink and try to be a good teammate,” Skinner said after scoring a goal, his 14th, against Seattle on Saturday. “Here, it’s a good atmosphere. When guys are going through adversity — and everyone goes through it no matter where you are in the lineup — you work through it together.
“You prop each other up when you can, and we’ve got a lot of veteran guys (who are) aware of what everyone is going through. I’m just happy to be a part of that.”
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Skinner had to learn how to create offence while handling the puck a lot less. Defensively, he used to be the guy coaches gave some leniency to because he produced so much.
Today, Skinner is a slower forward in a fast man’s game. If he gives up as much as he gets, that’s considered a net loss in Knoblauch’s eyes.
You can see, as the season has progressed, how this one-time first-liner has worked to become a bottom-six player the coaches can trust — while still bringing a goal scorer’s touch to whatever line he’s on. The way Perry has.
“He’s used his legs a lot more. He looks rejuvenated,” Ekhiolm said. “Players like that, sometimes, they’re almost like a magnet to the puck. The puck just seems to find him right now.
“I’ve got to give him a lot of credit. He’s hung in there, and he’s coming through for us now when we really need it.
“I’m happy for him.”
