There were several players from the roster of the Edmonton Oilers that advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the second straight season in 2025 that are no longer with the franchise, including names like Viktor Arvidsson , Stuart Skinner , Darnell Nurse , Calvin Pickard , and Jeff Skinner .
For Jeff Skinner, his postseason appearances with the Edmonton Oilers were the very first of his NHL career, as he had never once advanced beyond the 82nd game of the regular season during his many years with the Carolina Hurricanes and the Buffalo Sabres .
As cruel fate would have it, the Hurricanes have been one of the best and consistent teams in the NHL since Skinner's departure in 2018. Meanwhile, the Sabres returned to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2011 earlier this spring.
Skinner, who joined the Oilers with a one-year, $3 million contract ahead of the 2024-25 NHL season, remains on the open market as an unrestricted free agent, and doesn't appear any closer to signing a contract for the upcoming campaign.
Skinner appeared in 72 games with the Oilers in 2024-25, scoring 16 goals with 13 assists. However, he was largely a healthy scratch during the 2025 posteason; he would skate in five games, and scored a single goal. His first and only career playoff goal came in Game 5 of the 2025 Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars , helping propel Edmonton to the Cup Final.
His teammates spoke positively about him during their postseason run, while Skinner himself said that he was soaking it all in as his first playoff experience.
"Growing up, I always wanted to experience playing in a Canadian market [in the playoffs]," he said during Edmonton's run . "It's been fun, a blast actually. I'm soaking it all in, incredibly grateful."
"The margin between winning and losing is so small in the playoffs," he continued. "It's a split-second decision. Everyone hammers it home, but feeling it is something else. Then there's the obvious excitement, the buzz around the city, in the building, in the locker room."
Following the season, the Oilers did not bring Skinner back, and he was signed to a one-year, $3 million deal with the San Jose Sharks . However, things didn't work out for Skinner with the Sharks, and both parties agreed to mutually terminate his contract in February after he went unclaimed on waivers.
While with San Jose , Skinner appeared in only 32 games and averaged a career-low in ice time at just under 13 minutes per game; he also scored six goals and seven assists.
"We want to thank Jeff for his contributions to the organization, and wish him all the best," Sharks general manager Mike Grier said after the contract termination.
Skinner was taken by the Hurricanes in the first round (seventh overall pick) of the 2010 NHL Draft, and later won the Calder Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year for the 2010-11 season.
He's skated in 1,100 NHL games, and has scored 379 goals with 333 assists.
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