Oilers News & Rumours: Gibson, Klingberg, Stuart Skinner – The Hockey Writers Latest News, Analysis & More

The Edmonton Oilers continue to be one of the most interesting teams this season, with fans speculating what their next move is heading toward the 2025 Trade Deadline. They recently signed John Klingberg to a one-year deal for the remainder of the 2024-25 season who recently returned from injury, and that experiment has been going well so far. John Gibson recently got connected to the Oilers and supposedly has interest in being traded from the Anaheim Ducks, and speculation has begun to grow around Stuart Skinner. In this edition of Oilers News & Rumours, let’s take a deeper dive into those stories. 

John Gibson Interested in Being Traded to Oilers

According to a recent report from Elliotte Friedman, Anaheim Ducks’ goaltender John Gibson would prefer to be traded to either the Edmonton Oilers or Carolina Hurricanes. Gibson has a no-trade clause and has a hefty $6.4 million cap hit which could complicate things a little bit, but it seems as though there was some interest from the Oilers’ end as well.

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However, Friedman added that Gibson wants to be the number one guy wherever he goes and with Skinner already between the pipes playing well, the fit may not be as strong as some people believe. That hasn’t stopped fans from continuing speculation, though.

Gibson, who is 31 years old, has nine wins through 23 games played this season posting a 2.69 goals-against-average (GAA) and a .915 save percentage (SV%). The Ducks are struggling this season, so his stats are quite impressive considering the team in front of him is struggling to find ways to win. It might be a tough trade to pull off, but it seems like the Gibson trade rumours might finally come to an end this season.

Stuart Skinner Trade Speculation Arises

After Gibson was connected to the Oilers, fans began to wonder if Friedman was hinting at something else during his recent podcast. While mentioning that Gibson wants to be the number one guy wherever he goes, some started to wonder what that could mean for Skinner if the Oilers were serious about acquiring Gibson. Skinner has been solid this season and has had support from management despite being inconsistent at times, and they have shown no indication they want to trade him.

Fans will continue to speculate regardless, but it doesn’t sound like Skinner would be traded if the Oilers pursued Gibson. He is a homegrown talent who has helped the Oilers find success and is still young enough that he could find another level to his game in the next couple of seasons. Gibson may not have interest in being a tandem goaltender, but that doesn’t mean the Oilers would part with Skinner to make something happen, not yet at least.

John Klingberg Could Earn Special Teams Time

After signing him to a one-year deal, the Oilers have begun using Klingberg in a larger role and increasing his ice time as the games go on. He seems to be finding his game and considering he missed over a year with a massive injury, it’s impressive that he’s been able to build trust with the Oilers’ staff to a point where he may soon earn some special teams ice time.

Oilers’ GM Stan Bowman spoke about Klingberg in a recent Q&A with The Athletic, stating:

Right now, he’s only playing 17 minutes. Eventually, they’ll probably bump up a little bit to 18 or 19. He’s not on the special teams. I think he’ll find his way onto those, but we’re trying to work him in slowly. Ideally, you could have your pairs where a top player might play 22 minutes and then 20 and 18. That would be sort of an ideal utilization, so that you don’t burn out.

source – ‘Inside Oilers’ roster decisions to elevate Stanley Cup pursuit: Stan Bowman Q&A’ – Daniel Nugent-Bowman – The Athletic – 02/10/2025

Bowman didn’t give away exactly what he was planning to do at the 2025 Trade Deadline, but it seems like he plans to gauge the trade market to see if there is any way he can improve the team heading toward the postseason.

As the 2024-25 season moves along, be sure to continue following The Hockey Writers as your source for news from around the NHL and the hockey world.