The Edmonton Oilers have acquired goaltender Tristan Jarry and forward Sam Poulin from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Stuart Skinner, Brett Kulak and a 2029 second round pick.
The move addresses an area of need for the Oilers that’s been evident for several seasons now. However, it’s fair to point out that Jarry was also available on waivers last season and went unclaimed, making the deal perhaps necessary, but also poor asset management.
The 30 year old netminder has bounced back this year following a rough 2024-25 campaign, posting a 9-3-1 record with a .909 SV% and 2.66 GAA. Meanwhile Poulin has appeared in two games for Pittsburgh this season, but has 20 points through 22 AHL games this year, and has former first round pick pedigree from the 2019 NHL Entry Draft.
For his part, Skinner has an 11-8-4 record with a .891 SV% and 2.83 GAA. However he’s largely been the source of much fan angst and media scrutiny over the last two seasons as Edmonton has gotten uneven performances between the pipes en route to back-to-back Stanley Cup final losses.
Set to become an unrestricted free agent at season’s end, Pittsburgh will essentially get a free look at Skinner without being tied to the goaltender beyond the current NHL campaign. He’ll likely split time with new teammate Arturs Silovs who will be a restricted free agent at season’s end, making the Penguins future in net murky at best at the moment.
By moving out Kulak, Edmonton created a void on their back end with roughly 17:42 minutes worth of ice time suddenly becoming available. As a result, the team completed a secondary trade to acquire 25 year old Spencer Stastney from the Nashville Predators in exchange for a 2027 third round pick.
Stastney has 1 goal and 8 assists across 30 games for the Predators this season.
Rounding out the busy day for Edmonton, the club put blueliner Jake Walman on long-term injured reserve as well. Up next for the Oilers is a Saturday night affair with the Toronto Maple Leafs, while the Penguins will have an afternoon showdown with the San Jose Sharks.
Photo: Michael Miller. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.