Stuart Skinner is heading to the Winnipeg Jets on a two-year contract worth $3.75 million per season, according to Elliotte Friedman.
The deal, reported Wednesday, hands the 27-year-old goaltender a fresh start in a crease that already has a franchise anchor.
Skinner posted a .888 save percentage in 50 games this past season, going 17-18-4 with two shutouts.
That's a workhorse workload, and now he walks into a Winnipeg room where Connor Hellebuyck just posted a .895 mark in 57 appearances.
Two capable NHL goalies on one roster usually means one thing: somebody's minutes get squeezed.
The Jets finished 35-35-12 this year, a -29 goal differential that speaks to a club still searching for consistency in front of whoever's between the pipes.
Head coach Scott Arniel now has a real decision to make about how he splits starts, and it won't be a simple 1A-1B conversation given Hellebuyck's track record.
Why Winnipeg's crease just got a lot more crowded
Eric Comrie logged 25 games behind Hellebuyck this season with a .890 save percentage, and Thomas Milic got a brief three-game look.
Skinner's arrival at $3.75 million doesn't just add a backup, it adds a legitimate starter-caliber arm to a mix that already had bodies in it.
That's the kind of signing that either sets up a trade before training camp or forces an awkward timeshare all season.
General manager Kevin Cheveldayoff has to sort that out, and he's had this job since 2011, so he's not new to managing a crowded position.
Is this a smart depth move or a crease logjam waiting to blow up? Depends entirely on whether Winnipeg views Skinner as insurance or as a genuine 1A candidate.
Skinner has bounced through a few organizations on his career path, and landing in a Canadian market with playoff expectations is a different kind of pressure than he's faced recently.
The next move to watch isn't Skinner's performance, it's whether Hellebuyck's name starts showing up in trade conversations once camp opens.
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Should the Winnipeg Jets have signed Stuart Skinner given their crowded goalie situation?
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