Has Stuart Skinner Played His Last Game For The Pittsburgh Penguins?
The Pittsburgh Penguins kept their faint Stanley Cup playoff hopes alive Saturday, beating the Philadelphia Flyers to cut Philly's series lead to 3-1. The Flyers outshot the Penguins 30-21 in Game 4, but Pens goalie Arturs Silovs stepped up with a high-impact performance, stopping 19 Philadelphia shots for a .933 save percentage.
Given Silovs' ability to keep Pittsburgh in the series, it's looking like we've might've seen the last of goalie Stuart Skinner as a Penguin.
Skinner was in the crease for Pittsburgh's first three games against the Flyers. In that span, he posted a .873 SP, losing all three games. In other words, Skinner did not deliver the performances the Pens needed to be competitive in this series.
Penguins' Sidney Crosby And Kris Letang Proved They Aren't Done Yet Vs. Flyers
The Pittsburgh Penguins needed their veterans to step up to avoid the sweep against the Philadelphia Flyers. They not only got that, but also a strong performance from Arturs Silovs and a bit of imitating Philadelphia's style.
The goalie Penguins GM Kyle Dubas wanted to see when he acquired Silovs from the Vancouver Canucks in 2025 is what he saw from Silovs in Game 4. And that almost certainly means Skinner will be on the sidelines for the rest of the first round.
Furthermore, unless Pittsburgh pulls off a massive upset by winning its final three games against Philadelphia, we could be looking at the end of Skinner's time as a Penguin.
Skinner will be a UFA this summer, and he's likely to get interest from several teams needing goalie depth. He split his appearances this year between the Edmonton Oilers and the Penguins, and his individual numbers are nearly the same for both clubs.
He had put up an 11-8-4 record, a .891 SP and 2.83 GAA in 23 appearances for the Oilers. For the Penguins, Skinner posted a 12-9-5 record, a .885 SP and a 2.99 GAA in 27 contests.
So, in a market where decent netminding is at a premium, Skinner is likely to attract attention from more than one team, and likely won't break the bank on his next contract.
For the past three seasons, Skinner has had a cap hit of $2.6 million, and his next deal may not be significantly higher than that.
Inside The Penguins' Goalie Tandem: Skinner, Šilovs Talk Relationship Outside Rink, Splitting Goaltending Duties
Pittsburgh Penguins' goaltenders Artūrs Šilovs and Stuart Skinner have both been helping the Penguins win hockey games and continue to earn crucial points down the stretch - and the success of their split tandem extends off the rink as well.
Skinner has proven by now that he can be part of an NHL goalie tandem. Skinner can't be the type of workhorse who appears in 50 games or more, but if he's splitting the action and riding short waves where he's at his peak, Skinner can make decent contributions.
But after the way the playoffs have played out, Skinner's time in Pittsburgh could be at an end. Even if Silovs isn't the Penguins' long-term solution in net, they've got youngsters Joel Blomqvist and Sergei Murashov in the pipeline.
It was worth the trade gamble to see what Skinner had to offer, but it just hasn't worked out for him in Pittsburgh. However, that doesn't mean Skinner will be ignored on the UFA market if he gets there.
For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.
The Hockey News
This story was originally published April 26, 2026 at 12:44 PM.