The NHL’s trade deadline had expired at 3 p.m. March 6.
And Stuart Skinner was still employed by the Pittsburgh Penguins.
He could exhale.
But not immediately.
NHL teams often submit trades to the league office with minutes to spare before the deadline and the paperwork to complete those transactions can take upwards of an hour, if not longer, to process.
So, the goaltender continued to wait.
“When it was three o’clock, I waited until about 3:45 (p.m.),” Skinner said. “Because you never know.”
Okay, well, 3:45 p.m. passed and Skinner was finally at ease.
“My wife was very happy too,” Skinner said. “My whole family was.”
Lots of folks beyond the immediate Skinner clan seem to be happy with him being stationed in Pittsburgh, particularly his teammates, as Skinner has helped steer the Penguins toward the franchise’s first playoff berth in three years.
“He’s just super calm,” defenseman Ryan Shea said. “And he’s a great guy. He’s honestly one of the best guys I’ve played with. Just seeing him — he had his kid around today — just seeing him as a dad, too, it’s pretty special.
“And, obviously, in Edmonton, when you get kind of dragged through the mud like he did and he comes here, you could just see his smile kind of rejuvenate.”
The Penguins acquired Skinner in a trade Dec. 12 when Skinner was jettisoned by the Edmonton Oilers after helping that outfit reach the two previous Stanley Cup Finals, losing each time to the Florida Panthers.
But with inconsistent play by Skinner and the Oilers as a whole to open this season, change was deemed necessary by management — to say nothing of fans and media in hockey-mad Edmonton — and he was dealt away in part to acquire the Penguins’ one-time top goaltender, Tristan Jarry.
Skinner has offered a stable — but hardly perfect — presence in net since he joined the Penguins. In 23 games with the club, he has an 11-7-5 record, a 2.90 goals-against average and an .888 save percentage.
Pedestrian figures to be sure but Skinner has fared far better than Jarry has in Edmonton. Acquired in hopes of giving the Oilers enough in net to actually win the Stanley Cup for the first time this century, Jarry has struggled so much in the face of those vast expectations, he has become Edmonton’s backup to journeyman Connor Ingram.
As for Skinner, he isn’t the backup here. But he’s not exactly the starter either with the Penguins.
An undeclared platoon in net has unfolded throughout the entire season between the four goaltenders the Penguins have dressed, whether it be Skinner, Jarry or rookies Arturs Silovs and Sergei Murashov.
At the moment, Skinner and Silovs are exchanging starts almost every other game.
That division of labor has almost been required, given the compacted nature of the regular season schedule due to the NHL’s participation in the Olympics.
“There’s been a lot of hockey played,” Skinner said. “Obviously, the rest in between games for (Silovs) and myself, it’s nice for the body, especially (with) the condensed schedule. Our March has been pretty wild. That’s the benefit, is just keeping us mentally both in it.”
As April opens and the Penguins inch closer to the postseason, it’s anyone’s guess as to who the starter will be should the Penguins participate in the playoffs.
Goaltending platoons almost never happen in the postseason unless extenuating circumstances — such as injuries or just rotten play — dictate such a deployment.
Skinner isn’t thinking that far ahead. His team still needs to formally qualify for the postseason.
“Right now, all we’re thinking about is getting two points each game,” Skinner said. “We were able to get some really good games in, just switching me and (Silovs) back and forth. So, as long as that keeps on getting us two points, I can’t really tell the future for you.”
As far as Skinner’s future beyond this season, he is a pending unrestricted free agent. A strong conclusion to the regular season — to say nothing of the postseason — could provide plenty of financial security for a 27-year-old goaltender, particularly at a time when depth at the position isn’t necessarily abundant throughout the NHL.
Skinner will wait to worry about that as well.
“I could definitely think about that but my mind’s got a lot of other stuff going on,” Skinner said. “I’ve got two kids that I’m taking care of and a wife to take care of. I’m not too worried about what the contract’s going to look like or anything like that.
“Just playing my game. We all play because we love it. So, I’m just trying to enjoy it.”
Notes: Defenseman Caleb Jones formally rejoined the Penguins’ active roster on Wednesday after completing a 20-game suspension for for violating terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program. Jones has not played in an NHL contest since Oct. 23 due to the suspension as well as a variety of injuries. … The Penguins had a scheduled day off Wednesday.