He also endured a few rocky seasons with the Sabres that ended in him being bought out. In his first year with the Edmonton Oilers, he’s gone from a high-profile free-agent signee to someone struggling to get into the lineup.

It has not been the type of season that the Edmonton Oilers had envisioned for free-agent signing Jeff Skinner.

How far down the Oilers' pecking order has Skinner dropped? He played 13:34 in Thursday's 6-2 win over Vancouver − and that was his biggest ice time total since Dec. 3.

Hart Winner Leon Draisaitl is ridiculous pic.twitter.com/ToWCTxSkC0 The only thing I disliked about Leon Draisaitl’s performance last night is that more people out east probably didn’t stay up to watch it.

This in from Bob Stauffer of the Oilers radio network, the lines from today’s Edmonton Oilers practice that show Jeff Skinner has yet again been bumped down the line-up: Podkolzin-Draisaitl-Arvidsson Hyman-Henrique-Perry Janmark-RNH-Brown J.

The Oilers' lineup remains in flux as they prepare for tonight's matchup with the Seattle Kraken. Stuart Skinner, Darnell Nurse, and John Klingberg were all missing from Oilers practice this morning, throwing a few wrenches into Kris Knoblauch's plans for tonight.

Dallas needs Klingberg more than the Oilers. Their other three right-shot D — Matt Dumba, Ilya Lyubushkin and Nils Lundkvist — haven’t scored a goal all season long. He wants to play on a Cup contender and wherever he signs, he’s in audition mode for next season.

EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) — Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored two goals to help the Edmonton Oilers beat the Buffalo Sabres 3-2 on Saturday. Edmonton improved to 21-6-1 in its last 28 games. It also moved into first place in the Pacific Division, one point up on the idle Vegas Golden Knights.

According to NHL insider Andy Strickland, the Edmonton Oilers are among the favourites to sign star forward Mikko Rantanen if he leaves the Carolina Hurricanes in free agency.

A new inside report has connected the Edmonton Oilers to signing Mikko Rantanen in free agency this season, and they may actually have the cap flexibility to make the deal without losing significant roster players.

The Colorado Avalanche trading star Mikko Rantanen signifies a change in their team-building approach from front-loading their squad to improving their depth.

Calvin Pickard helped backstop the Oilers to a solid 4-2 victory over the Kraken last night, but his backup also got some attention.