In the mid-1990s, it was evident that the Detroit Red Wings had built a team capable of winning the Stanley Cup. What the club lacked was a front-line netminder. At the 1994 NHL trade deadline, the Red Wings dealt goalie Tim Cheveldae to the Winnipeg Jets for netminder Bob Essensa.
At the time, I wrote, did the Red Wings just trade Tim Cheveldae for Tim Cheveldae? The outcome proved that to be true. Before the season was done, Essensa had lost Detroit's No. 1 goalie role to rookie Chris Osgood.
The following season, the Wings took a Mulligan on that trade. They reached out to acquire a proven Cup-winning goalie in Mike Vernon. He would backstop Detroit to the Stanley Cup final in 1995 and win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Red Wings captured Lord Stanley's mug in 1997.
Looking at Friday's Edmonton-Pittsburgh goalie trade, it feels as if history is repeating itself.
Skinner for Jarry pic.twitter.com/lXr9D2FjBg
— Chris Conte (@ChrisConte79) December 12, 2025
Did the Oilers just trade Stuart Skinner for Stuart Skinner? Only in this instance, the new version of Skinner is named Tristan Jarry.
Do the math, crunch the numbers, and this deal might even be worse than the Cheveldae-Essensa trade.
Skinner has already taken the Oilers to consecutive Stanley Cup final appearances and to within a win of the title in 2024. He's won seven postseason series as an NHL goalie. Jarry has never won an NHL playoff series.
Skinner, Jarry Are Both Erratic Goalies
Granted, Jarry is enjoying a stellar 2025-26 season. He's sitting with a 9-3-1 record, along with a .909 save percentage, 2.66 goals-against average and one shutout. Still, let's not forget that last season, he was placed on waivers by the Penguins and demoted to the AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. In six starts last season, Jarry allowed a goal on the first shot he faced.
Is the Oilers goalie swap an upgrade? pic.twitter.com/ap8a0MbFEd
— Sportsnet Stats (@SNstats) December 13, 2025
The Oilers clearly needed a change in net from Skinner. He's got an .893 save percentage and 2.83 GAA. There was talk that Oilers' superstar Connor McDavid was pushing management to go after St. Louis netminder Jordan Binnington. He's a past Stanley Cup champion and Canada's successful goalie at last season's 4 Nations Faceoff.
A year from now, when the Jarry experiment goes up in flames, the Edmonton braintrust may be wishing that they listened to their captain.