Penguins coach drops Stuart Skinner truth bomb after trade

There were two major trades in the National Hockey League on Friday, starting with the deal between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Edmonton Oilers involving goaltenders Tristan Jarry and Stuart Skinner.

The Oilers traded Skinner, defenseman Brett Kulak and a 2029 second-round pick to the Penguins for Jarry and forward Sam Poulin. For Edmonton, they’re hoping that Jarry is able to solve their long-standing goaltending issue, while the Penguins are hoping Skinner will compete for the starting job with offseason acquisition Arturs Silovs in the Pittsburgh crease.

Penguins head coach Dan Muse, who is in his first season as head coach after being hired by GM Kyle Dubas, is a fan of the deal and touted the experience of Skinner, which include two straight trips to the Stanley Cup Final.

“You can’t put a price on that type of experience,” Muse said of Skinner, via NHL.com. “Two years in a row, too. It’s a lot of it. So, yeah, excited for him and the opportunity here. I think the playoffs are so hard.

“To have been there and to have been through it and to be through that kind of a grind and to be able to learn from it, like, yeah, that experience, you don’t have that in every single locker room,” he continued. “So, it’s another guy here now coming in that has that.”

Jarry has already joined the Oilers for their Saturday evening matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs, while Skinner will be with the Penguins for Saturday afternoon’s matchup against the San Jose Sharks.

Penguins have transformed goaltending

In just a few short months, the Penguins have completely overhauled their goaltending. It began during the offseason when they traded Alex Nedeljkovic, whom they had extended with a two-year contract prior to the 2024-25 campaign, to the Sharks. They also acquired Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks.

Now, they’ve traded Jarry to the Oilers for Skinner, who had borne plenty of criticism for his lack of consistency and his performance in the 2025 Stanley Cup Final against the Panthers, Edmonton’s second straight setback against Florida in the NHL’s championship series.

Skinner can become an unrestricted free agent at the close of this season. With highly-touted prospect Sergei Murashov making a name for himself, it remains to be seen whether or not the Penguins have plans on re-signing Skinner at the end of the 2025-26 season.

The post Penguins coach drops Stuart Skinner truth bomb after trade appeared first on ClutchPoints.