The Edmonton Oilers barely had time to lick their wounds after coming up just short in the Stanley Cup Final last year before they had to start reassembling their roster for another run at hockey’s ultimate prize.
Free agency opened on July 1, exactly one week after the Florida Panthers defeated Edmonton in Game 7, and the Oilers were busy, re-signing several depth players, including Connor Brown, Adam Henrique, Mattias Janmark, Corey Perry and Troy Stecher.
It was the signings of a couple of newcomers, however, that made all the headlines in Oil Country last Canada Day: within hours, Edmonton inked left wing Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $4 million and center Jeff Skinner to a one-year contract with an AAV of $3 million.
Both moves were widely praised by analysts and celebrated by fans. It was hard not to be impressed with the addition of the veteran forwards, who boasted impressive resumes with more than 500 career goals and 1,000 career points between them.
It was enough for the opening of free agency to be declared a success in Edmonton, even though the Oilers lost veterans Vincent Desharnais and Warren Foegele, who signed with the Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings, respectively. Arvidsson and Skinner were expected to significantly help Edmonton remain in championship contention this season.
Fast-forward 10-and-a-half months. After defeating the Kings and Vegas Golden Knights in the first two rounds of the 2025 Stanley Cup playoffs, the Oilers are only four wins away from getting back to the Stanley Cup Final for a second consecutive year. But Arvidsson and Skinner are nowhere to be found.
Arvidsson and Skinner are healthy scratches
Edmonton opens the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on Wednesday (May 21), and neither Arvidsson nor Skinner are expected to be in the Oilers’ lineup for Game 1 of the best-of-seven series.
Skinner last suited up for Game 1 of Round 1, picking up one assist in Edmonton’s 6-5 loss to the Kings on April 21, and has been a healthy scratch ever since, after coming out of the lineup to make room for the returning Evander Kane, who missed the entire regular season while recovering from multiple surgeries.
