The Senators Could Be Ready to Make a Smart Goalie Bet
Stuart Skinner landing with the Ottawa Senators actually makes a lot of sense when you sit and think about it for a few minutes. As someone who’s always liked Skinner’s game, part of me hopes he finds the right situation next. Edmonton was a pressure cooker. Every mistake turned into a national debate, every soft goal lived on television for three days, and every playoff wobble felt like a full-blown crisis. That’s a hard environment for any goalie, especially one still trying to fully establish himself as an NHL starter.
Could the Senators be a team that's watching Skinner this summer?
Now, according to reports from Jim Matheson and Bruce Garrioch, Ottawa could be one of the teams watching Skinner closely this summer. The Senators are believed to be looking for a true tandem setup alongside Linus Ullmark, and, financially, the numbers actually work. Even if Skinner lands somewhere around the $3 million range, Ottawa could still comfortably carry both goaltenders without blowing apart its cap structure.
And from a hockey perspective, this might actually be a healthier fit for Skinner than a place like Edmonton or even Pittsburgh. Ottawa is still a Canadian market, but it’s not the same kind of nonstop hockey furnace. In Toronto, Montreal, or Edmonton, the goalie becomes the story almost every night. Ottawa feels a little calmer. There’s pressure because it’s a passionate fan base and the nation’s capital, but the environment is probably a little more forgiving for a goalie trying to rebuild confidence and rhythm.
Skinner has been a solid hockey player and a good citizen.
The other thing people sometimes forget about Skinner is that he actually played some really solid hockey for the Oilers over stretches of his career. The idea that he suddenly can’t play anymore feels unfair. Goalies are strange creatures. Confidence matters. Fit matters. Team structure matters. And once things start spiralling in a hockey-mad market, it can become very difficult to slow the noise down.
That’s part of why Ottawa feels intriguing. The Senators don’t necessarily need Skinner to arrive and become a franchise saviour. They’d need him to stabilize games, split starts with Ullmark, and give the team reliable minutes over the course of a long season. That’s a much different ask than carrying the emotional weight of an entire Stanley Cup contender every night.
I thought Skinner got a bad deal in Edmonton.
Personally, I was hoping Pittsburgh might become home for him because there’s a quieter hockey culture there, too. But if that door is closing, Ottawa might not be a bad landing spot at all. A little less pressure, a good defensive core developing in front of him, and a chance to reset his career in a more balanced environment.
And sometimes for goalies, that’s exactly what changes everything.