Carter, who? Hart, what?
The Edmonton Oilers head into training camp being a rumored landing spot for the recently reinstated Carter Hart. They might need a new backup goaltender, and there are definitely options they could consider. They could also use a new forward in their top six. However, a new development regarding their starting goalie might raise a few eyebrows.
In an appearance on Oilers Now, GM Stan Bowman raved about how Stuart Skinner has looked during captain’s skates. Specifically, he mentioned how Skinner has looked slimmer.
Stan Bowman on Stuart Skinner
On Friday, September 12, 2025, Bowman made an appearance on Oilers Now with host Bob Stauffer. The two gave a positive update on Skinner’s conditioning ahead of training camp.
“Far be it from a guy who hasn’t been under 200 lbs since 1987 to be judging another dude on his body composition,” Stauffer said to his guest. “But, Stuart Skinner looks completely different. He looks quicker, more agile, and frankly, when you see him up close, it’s obvious he’s dropped some weight.”
Last year, Skinner was listed as being 6-foot-4, 230 lb on the Oilers website.
“I actually saw Stu earlier this week in the kitchen before going on the ice,” Bowman responded. “The first thing I noticed was he looked thin. I said, ‘Wow, you look different.’”
“He said, ‘Yeah, I wanted to try something different, be a little bit lighter this year. I feel great.’”
Bowman then continues by describing how Skinner has looked on the ice through his eyes, in addition to how Skinner has been getting along with the Oilers’ new goalie coach, Peter Aubry.
“He looks good, he looks quick on the ice,” Bowman said to Stauffer. “And in talking to Peter Aubry, they’ve formed a really great connection. Stu and I talked about that. He’s really excited about the connection that they’ve formed over the summer; they’ve spent a lot of time with each other, talking about the game and talking about his game. It’s like a fresh approach to the season.”
“When you add it all up, there’s a lot of reason for excitement.”
Oilers’ Skinner Addresses His Weakness Head On
Hearing words like “quick” and “more agile” come from the mouths of Bowman and Stauffer should give Oilers fans a vote of confidence in the goaltender.
Skinner has set his goals high this season. When he spoke to the media earlier in September, he laid out what those goals are.
“I want to go to the Olympics, I want to be a goalie for Team Canada,” Skinner said. “I want to be able to get back to the Stanley Cup Final and finish the job this year.”
To achieve that, Skinner revealed what he worked on over the summer.
“There are a lot of things that I worked on. I’d have to go through my notes to go through all of them,” Skinner revealed to the media that day. “Honestly, it’s just getting in better shape and getting my core turned on a little bit more, so those were the type of things that I worked on off the ice.”
“Being mentally clear was the biggest thing for me as the summer progressed, because losing the Cup two years in a row is definitely challenging.”
Early on in the 2024-25 season, Skinner’s lateral movement was identified as a weakness in his game. Improved quickness, agility, and being lighter will help him address this weakness for the new season.
Between Connor McDavid entering the final year of his contract, Evander Kane being traded, and the Oilers looking to younger talent to fill in the gaps, having a better version of Skinner hit the ice will help the team out immensely.
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