Jeff Skinner signed a one-year, $3 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.
The 32-year-old forward had 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) in 74 games last season for the Buffalo Sabres, who bought out the final three seasons of his eight-year, $72 million contract ($9 million average annual value) on June 30.
“For me personally, getting a chance to be a part of that group I think is a great feeling, it gets you excited," Skinner said Tuesday. "Obviously there’s a ton of work to do; I think everyone realizes that. But being able to play with that group, I’m sure they’ve gained a lot of useful experience on the run they went on and I’m hoping to slide in, be a piece of the puzzle and contribute, and I’m excited to get going.”
Selected by the Carolina Hurricanes with the No. 7 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, Skinner has 670 points (357 goals, 313 assists) in 1,006 regular-season games for the Hurricanes and Sabres but has yet to play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has scored 92 goals over the past three seasons, including 35 in 2022-23.
"With Jeff Skinner, he’s obviously a guy that’s had a long career, who has scored a lot of goals in the League," Edmonton CEO of hockey operations Jeff Jackson said. "A couple of years ago he had [82 points]. He’s a very good player, a very smart player, that can play with lots of skilled players."
Earlier on Monday, the Oilers signed forward Viktor Arvidsson to a two-year, $8 million contract ($4 million AAV). The 31-year-old forward had 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 18 regular-season games for the Los Angeles Kings last season after he had 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) in 77 games in 2022-23.
"The thing we really liked about [Skinner] is just like Viktor, they’re good 5-on-5 players," Jackson said. "They score goals and produce offense at 5-on-5, so both of those guys are going to add a nice element to our top six. We’re super happy, very pleased to get both of them and look forward to next year with them in that group."
Also Monday, the Oilers re-signed forwards Adam Henrique (two years, $6 million; AAV of $3 million), Mattias Janmark (three years, $4.35 million; AAV of $1.45 million), Connor Brown (one year, $1 million) and Corey Perry (one year, $1.4 million), and defenseman Troy Stecher (two years, $1.575 million; AAV of $787,500). They also added defenseman Josh Brown, signing him to a three-year, $3 million contract ($1 million AAV).
