Jeff Skinner, Sharks Agree to 1-Year Contract in NHL Free Agency After Oilers Stint

Jeff Skinner is headed to San Jose after one season with the Edmonton Oilers.

The veteran winger signed a one-year contract worth $3 million with the Sharks in free agency, the team announced Friday.

Skinner, who turned 33 in May, is heading into his 16th NHL season. He posted 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists) in 72 games with the Oilers before spending most of the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final as a healthy scratch.

He drew back into the lineup for the last three games of the Final, registering five total shots but not recording a point before the Oilers lost Game 7 to the Florida Panthers.

Skinner originally arrived in Edmonton after the Buffalo Sabres bought out the three years remaining on the eight-year, $72-million contract he signed ahead of the 2019-20 season.

At the time of his deal with the Sabres, Skinner was coming off of the career-best 40-goal campaign he recorded during his first season in Buffalo.

Injuries limited Skinner over the first two seasons of the deal. He followed those up with two more 30-goal campaigns, but was held to 24 goals in his final season with the Sabres before the franchise bought him out.

The Oilers picked Skinner up on a one-year, $3 million deal with the hope of slotting him in on Leon Draisaitl's wing on the second line.

After skating alongside Draisaitl in the preseason and the first week of the season, however, Skinner was bumped out of the top six and eventually down to the fourth line.

He saw his ice time gradually decrease throughout the first two months of the seasonbefore becoming a healthy scratch for the first time in December.

Skinner may not have been a fit alongside Draisaitl or Connor McDavid, but the Sharks may be hoping he will be able to click in the San Jose top six.

The winger could potentially be a fit on the Sharks' second line, which could also feature 2025 No. 2 pick Michael Misa should the center make the NHL roster this fall.

He will also be able to provide a veteran presence for a young team featuring recent high draft selections like Misa, Macklin Celebrini and Will Smith.

Skinner was originally selected with the No. 7 pick of the 2010 draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent eight seasons with the Hurricanes and six with the Sabres before joining the Oilers last fall.