San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) General Manager Mike Grier announced today that the club has signed forward Jeff Skinner to a one-year contract worth $3 million.
Skinner, 33, totaled 29 points (16 goals, 13 assists) in 72 games with the Edmonton Oilers in the 2024-25 regular season, finishing sixth in goals and seventh in points among club forwards. He went on to add two points (one goal, one assist) in five Stanley Cup Playoff games, his first career postseason appearance, helping Edmonton reach the Stanley Cup Final for the second consecutive year.
The 15-year NHL veteran has amassed 699 career points (373 goals, 326 assists) over 1,078 contests, splitting his NHL tenure between Carolina (2010-11 through 2017-18), Buffalo (2018-19 through 2023-24) and Edmonton (2024-25). He tallied career-bests of 82 points and 47 assists in the 2022-23 season across 79 games played. His career high for goals is 40, set in 2018-19, one of six seasons in which he has found the back of the net 30 or more times.
Additionally, he appeared in his milestone 1,000th NHL game for the Sabres against the Washington Capitals on Apr. 2, 2024, to become the first player from the 2010 NHL Draft and the 11th-youngest player (31 years, 322 days) in NHL history to reach 1,000 NHL games.
Skinner, a two-time NHL All-Star Game participant in 2011 and 2019, won the Calder Memorial Trophy in 2010-11 as an 18-year-old, which at the time, was the youngest-ever winner of the award. He was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team that same season after registering 63 points (31 goals, 32 assists) in 82 contests, which led all rookies that season and was just one of three rookies to reach the 30-goal plateau. Since the start of the 2000-01 season, Skinner is just one of five players to achieve 30 goals and 30 assists in their rookie campaign: Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, Evgeni Malkin, and Artemi Panarin.
In international competition, Skinner has represented Canada at the IIHF World Championship four times (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017), most recently helping the team win a Silver Medal in 2017 while tying for third on the club in scoring with nine points (four goals, five assists) in 10 games.
Prior to his professional career, Skinner played in two seasons with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), logging 141 points (77 goals, 64 assists) over 127 games in the league. He was selected for the CHL Top Prospects Game and OHL All-Star Game in 2009-10, a season in which he tied for the Kitchener lead with 90 points and paced the team while finishing second in the OHL with 50 goals in 64 games.
The five-foot-11, 200-pound native of Toronto, Ontario was originally selected by Carolina in the 2010 NHL Draft (first round, seventh overall).