After not landing a contract from an NHL team this offseason, former Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner is heading overseas.
EHC Biel-Bienne of Switzerland's National League has announced that they have signed Skinner to a contract that lasts until the end of April 2027.
Skinner signing overseas comes after he spent the 2025-26 season with the San Jose Sharks . In 32 games this past campaign with the Sharks, the former Oilers sniper posted six goals, seven assists, 13 points, and a minus-8 rating.
Skinner mutually terminated his contract with the Sharks back in February and was unable to find a new home in the NHL after that. Due to this, he finished the 2025-26 campaign as a free agent.
After being bought out by the Buffalo Sabres during the 2024 NHL Offseason, Skinner signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Oilers as a free agent. In 72 games with the Oilers during the 2024-25 campaign, the Toronto, Ontario native recorded 16 goals, 13 assists, 29 points, and a plus-1 rating. He also played in his first five career NHL playoff games with the Oilers that spring, posting one goal, one assist, and a minus-1 rating.
Overall, Skinner saw a pretty notable decrease in offensive production during his lone season with the Oilers. During the season before with the Sabres, he recorded 24 goals and 46 points in 74 games. He also had 35 goals, 47 assists, 82 points, and a plus-15 rating in 79 games for the Sabres during the 2022-23 season. However, he was just not able to get his offense back up as an Oiler, and it led them not to re-sign the veteran winger that summer because of it.
While Skinner had back-to-back down years, there is no question that he still had a very strong NHL career. After being selected seventh overall by the Carolina Hurricanes , Skinner cemented himself as a highly impactful top-six forward during his prime. He also won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 2010-11.
In 1,110 career NHL games over 16 seasons split between the Hurricanes, Sabres, Oilers, and Sharks, Skinner posted 379 goals, 333 assists, and 712 points. He also scored at least 30 goals in six of his NHL seasons, which included a career-high 40 with the Sabres in 2018-19.
It will now be interesting to see how well Skinner performs overseas with EHC Biel-Bienne from here. He has the potential to be a very solid addition to their roster.
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