The Edmonton Oilers turned heads at practice this week when Jeff Skinner was demoted off the second line and placed on the third line. Mattias Janmark was given his spot, and the early belief was that a poor preseason by Skinner had warranted the change. Fortunately, fans can press pause on the panic button as Skinner was back on the second line at practice Tuesday.
TSN’s Ryan Rishaug tweeted, “Jeff Skinner back in top 6 white today. Would seem yesterday’s 3rd line appearance was temporary. Perhaps a one-day motivator after a sluggish camp.”
Skinner hasn’t played a single regular season game for the Oilers and some fans were already quick to call him a bad signing. Noting that he’s more of an elite finisher and not necessarily and chance creator, it might be true that he’s better off playing with elite playmakers, but that’s far from calling him a bust. This is a proven 30-plus goal scorer in the NHL that has shown he can score 20 goals on bad teams. On a good team like the Oilers, insiders project he could have a big season.
But, the move at practice was a bit surprising.
Why Did Knoblauch Move Skinner in the First Place?
“I think right now, it’s best to play with the lines. Maybe (with) a little more north and south guys like Janmark, we have other options,” head coach Kris Knoblauch told the media after practice on Monday. He wasn’t opposed to giving looks to guys like Corey Perry and Vasily Podkolzin either. He added, “Right now, with Skinner being with that third line, I just know (it’ll be) tough to match all three of our lines, because we got scoring on all three.”
Expect the line juggling to be a thing for the Oilers this season. With such a deep roster at forward, no one should be shocked if Knoblauch runs with different looks as each game warrants.
As for Skinner, he’ll get plenty of opportunity. The 32-year-old veteran signed a one-year, $3-million deal with the Oilers as a free agent in July. He has 357 career goals, including five 30-plus goal seasons and one 40-goal campaign.
He knows he was brought in for that second line and he’s not about to blow his chance at getting into the playoffs for the first time in his career.
Next: Oilers’ Bowman Calls Out D-Man Josh Brown After Poor Preseason
