Jeff Skinner qualifies for playoffs for first time in 1,000+ game career

One of the league’s more notable veterans is going to be playing further into the spring than he ever has before.

With the Edmonton Oilers clinching a spot in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Oilers forward Jeff Skinner will have a chance to play in the postseason for the first time in his NHL career.

Originally being drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes seventh overall in the 2010 NHL Draft, Skinner has grinded through his career with mediocre and sometimes downright terrible teams. He had been known as one of the best scorers to have never participated in NHL games beyond the regular season. Yet, after 1,075 games, he’s finally going to get that chance.

The Oilers earned a berth in the playoffs with a 4-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Friday, putting the team in the postseason for the sixth consecutive season. Skinner came to Edmonton on a one-year contract that he signed back in July after his previous contract was bought out by the Buffalo Sabres.

The 32-year-old hasn’t had the same top-scoring role he had earlier in his career with the Sabres and Hurricanes, but with big names like Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, he’s only had to be a secondary scoring option for a team with Stanley Cup aspirations.

In 69 games with the Oilers, the Toronto native has scored 16 goals and 12 assists for 28 points.

Across his 15 years in the NHL, Skinner has scored 373 goals and 325 assists for 698 points. He’s scored 30 goals six times in his career, including a career-high 40 goals in the 2018-19 season with Buffalo.

The Oilers (46-28-5) currently sit third in the Pacific Division, most likely facing the Los Angeles Kings for the fourth straight postseason. Right now, Edmonton is two points back of the Kings for second place, though L.A. has a game in hand.