The Edmonton Oilers made waves after deciding to move on from their starting goaltender, Stuart Skinner, by trading him to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The move came after a slow start to the season and continued inconsistency in net, which ultimately pushed Edmonton to shake things up between the pipes.
In the aftermath of the deal, Oilers goaltender Calvin Pickard opened up about what it was like to see his longtime teammate and friend move out of the locker room.
Oilers’ Calvin Pickard on Stuart Skinner Trade to Pittsburgh Penguins
Edmonton acquired Tristan Jarry in the goalie swap on Friday. At the same time, Pittsburgh also picked up defenseman Brett Kulak and a second-round pick in the 2029 NHL Draft. The Oilers, in turn, received forward Samuel Poulin, who is currently in the AHL.
Speaking after Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Canadiens, Pickard admitted the trade felt strange. “Obviously, I’ve been through this,” Pickard said. “I’ve been in pro hockey for a long time. It’s definitely felt weird. You know, Skins and Cooley (Brett Kulak) just leave in the blink of an eye. Two big parts of our team since I’ve been here. Two good friends.”
Pickard also reflected on the moment that caught everyone’s attention after last week’s 9-4 win over the Seattle Kraken, a game he started. Following the final buzzer, Skinner skated over and shared a long, six-second hug with him, which immediately sparked speculation among fans that it might have been a “goodbye” moment.
Asked if they had any idea Skinner was about to be traded, Pickard was quick to shut that down. “No. We were just screwing around with everybody,” he said. “After the first one, it was a long hug because I was so mad about giving up that goal with four seconds left, even though we won 9-4. Then you guys read into it too much, so we kept messing around after the next couple wins.”
Pickard admitted that, in hindsight, it doesn’t look like they were just messing around given how things turned out, but insisted that’s exactly what was happening at the time.
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After the trade, Tristan Jarry made his Oilers debut in Saturday’s 6-3 win over the Maple Leafs. Pickard got the start on Sunday and surrendered four goals in the loss, later addressing the challenge of stepping back in after time off. “It happens, I haven’t played in 10 days, so it has its own challenges, for sure,” Pickard said.
Pickard and Skinner are set to meet again on Tuesday when the Oilers face the Penguins on the road.