Jeff Skinner joined the Edmonton Oilers over the off-season with two goals in mind: To finally make the playoffs for once in his career; and put pucks in the net, like he always has.
So far, he is on track to do one of those things, with the Oilers currently challenging for top spot in the Pacific Division as his former team, the Buffalo Sabres, come to town Saturday (2 p.m., Sportsnet West).
But Edmonton’s bid to win their division for the first time since 1987 has had little to do with the addition of Skinner. In fact, add it all up and his contribution of 15 points over 43 games wearing orange and blue so far have him ranked 13th in points (seven goals, eight assists).
Averaging 6.14 games between goals this season, Skinner has been lighting the lamp the fewest of all his 15 NHL seasons, aside from his least productive one in 2020-21 under then-Sabers head coach Ralph Krueger, where limited ice time saw him play just 53 games and score seven goals.
Not exactly the productivity you’d expect from a five-time 30-goal scorer, and four-time 20-goal scorer, whose best season saw him reach 40 in 82 games in 2018-19, his first season in Buffalo.
At the same time, when the Oilers signed him in free agency back on July 1, head coach Kris Knoblauch didn’t exactly have him pencilled in way down on the fourth line past the halfway mark of the schedule.
“No, there’s been a lot of things,” Knoblauch said of the challenges Skinner has faced. “What certain lines need to work. He needs a certain amount of playmaking ability, finishing, players that can hound pucks, create turnovers, going to the net. Stuff like that.”
In other words, a more well-rounded game than someone who’s basically made a living as a pure scorer.
Case in point, Vasily Podkolzin has six goals and 13 points in 48 games this season, the majority of which have been earned on the left wing of the second line next to Leon Draisaitl — the spot originally intended for Skinner when he was signed for $3 million.
But while Podkolzin’s offensive productivity is less than Skinner’s, he has been doing all the little things, if not just about everything else right, on a line centred by the league’s leading goal scorer.
“I didn’t envision Podkolzin being in our top-six this year when we got him,” Knoblauch said of the Vancouver Canucks first-round draft pick in 2019. “We were hoping he’d fit in somewhere on the fourth line and maybe be a 10th forward, if we were lucky. And maybe 13th.
“And now he’s come in here and done what he’s supposed to do and he’s had a good fit. So, I guess it’s not always about the player but also about fitting in with what the team needs. A lot of circumstances like that.”
It could all boil down to the simple fact that there are too many cooks in the Oilers offensive kitchen.
“I think any time you go somewhere new, there’s obviously adjustments, but I felt pretty comfortable right away,” Skinner said. “We’ve got a really good group in here, a lot of older guys that have been around and been on different teams.
“I don’t know, sometimes that maybe doesn’t help, but I think in this case for us, there are some experienced guys that make guys feel comfortable.”
In the dressing room, perhaps. But likely not the unfamiliar territory of the fourth line, where Skinner finds himself despite others getting promoted in the lineup in order to make up for the void at the top with Connor McDavid’s suspension.
“Jeff, give him a lot of credit, he’s been working hard and trying to adjust his game to what we need. And attention to detail and his work ethic every day at practice, you can’t ask for much more than that,” Knoblauch said. “At some point, there’s going to be injuries and he’s going to have to step up in a bigger role.
“We’re fortunate to have a lot of good, quality players on our team. Unfortunately for him right now, it just means that he doesn’t have as much of a role as he’s been used to.”
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On Twitter: @GerryModdejonge