Trade pitch sees Maple Leafs and Oilers swap goaltenders

It's still hard to believe that the Edmonton Oilers are poised to enter another season with Stuart Skinner and Calvin Pickard as their goaltending tandem.

Last year's roller coaster ride of a regular season and playoffs in goal felt like the nail in the coffin for this duo moving forward.

However, the market has been sparse for general manager Stan Bowman, and for now, he's stuck with what he's got, though he'll surely be continuing to look for outside options.

Given that, Caleb Kerney of Heavy Sports is proposing an interesting trade that would bring one in, seeing Edmonton send Stuart Skinner and Max Jones to Toronto in exchange for Joseph Woll. 

Maple Leafs receive: Stuart Skinner, Max Jones

Oilers receive: Joseph Woll

"This proposal would be massive because of the exchange of goaltenders. Skinner doesn’t have the same degree of injury issues as Joseph Woll. He becomes a solid 1B for Anthony Stolarz, who is more than capable of taking over the starting job if Stolarz falters or suffers injury," Kerney said.

"In this proposal, the Maple Leafs also add Max Jones, 27. The 6-foot-3, 216 lb forward was drafted 24th overall in 2016 by the Anaheim Ducks. The gritty forward recorded two points and 71 hits in 26 games split between the Oilers and Boston Bruins," Kerney added.

The 26-year-old Skinner is heading into the final season of the three-year, $7.8 million extension he signed with the Oilers in 2022, while the 27-year-old Woll is just about to enter the first season of the three-year, $11 million extension he inked with the Maple Leafs in 2024.

Toronto shouldn't trade Woll

Unless it's for a package that they can't pass up on, the Toronto Maple Leafs should be keeping Joseph Woll, especially at such a reasonable salary as the cap increases over the next several years.

Yes, Woll has had his injury issues throughout his career, but in 2024-25, he proved to be durable for the most part in a time-share with Anthony Stolarz, who's had trouble staying healthy himself. 

Reports have suggested that Toronto is looking to extend Stolarz and keep their tandem in place for the foreseeable future, which would work well for both goaltenders, helping each other to split the workload.

If you're the Edmonton Oilers, absolutely, you make this deal, but it's hard to imagine a return of Stuart Skinner and Max Jones being enticing enough for general manager Brad Treliving to move on from Joseph Woll.