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Jeff Skinner Reveals Why He Left The Edmonton Oilers To Sign With Division Rival In San Jose


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Tyler Ball
July 15, 2025  (8:53 PM)
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Former Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner playing in a road game in the NHL.
Photo credit: Sportsnet

Recently, former Edmonton Oilers forward Jeff Skinner spoke about the factors that led him to leave for the San Jose Sharks in free agency.

The Edmonton Oilers shook up their forward group this season pivoting to some of their top prospects for next season.
The move to youth comes after the Oilers fell short in the Stanley Cup Finals two seasons in a row relying on veterans to fill out the depth of the lineup.
One of those veterans last season that was expected to provide significant depth scoring was Jeff Skinner.
Skinner arrived from the Buffalo Sabres after having his contract bought out and was looking for a huge bounce back season.
Instead, Skinner was in and out of the lineup and played only a few Stanley Cup Playoff games.
When free agency opened Skinner decided to move on from the Oilers and signed with a rebuilding San Jose Sharks team.
During a new interview, Skinner spoke about leaving the Oilers and his new opportunity in San Jose.

Jeff Skinner Reveals Why He Left The Edmonton Oilers For A Division Rival

During the interview, Skinner revealed that a lack of playing time and too many scoring forwards on the Oilers led him to leave for a new home.
Every player wants to play

There's a lot of good players in sort of similar situations and [who] had sort of similar skillsets. So, it's just the way it worked out.

Skinner was then asked why San Jose felt like a good fit after being on such a good team this past season.
He admitted being able to be a mentor to the young stars in San Jose while still contributing in the lineup was a key factor in his decision.
Anything I can bring to the young guys in terms of a situation they may be going through that I may have personally experienced or may have seen someone go through, I think those kinds of things help, Skinner said. Maybe saying what I did, and it didn't work is a way of helping along someone that doesn't have the benefit of that experience.

Skinner, 33, played 72 games with the Oilers last season tallying 29 points and 16 goals.
With more ice-time coming in San Jose it will be interesting to see if Skinner can get back to the 30 goal scorer he used to be or if his best days are behind him forever.
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Jeff Skinner Reveals Why He Left The Edmonton Oilers To Sign With Division Rival In San Jose

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