Music: {allcanada} Jeff Skinner ready for 1st Stanley Cup Playoff run with Oilers

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LOS ANGELES -- Jeff Skinner appreciated the gesture from Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid to commemorate the impending end of the longest individual Stanley Cup Playoff drought in NHL history.

After 1,078 regular-season games, Skinner will participate in his first playoff contest when the Oilers face the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at Crypto.Com Arena on Monday (10 p.m. ET; FDSNW, ESPN2, TVAS2, SN).

McDavid presented the Oilers' championship belt, which is awarded to the player of the game, to Skinner after Edmonton clinched a playoff berth with a 4-2 win against the San Jose Sharks on April 11.

"I was happy. We have a pretty tight group, and everyone is kind of aware of what's going on," Skinner said Sunday. "Obviously, it's a bit of a storyline for me, but I think that day everyone was happy. We had gone a bunch of games where we didn't have everybody, and he (McDavid) came back (from injury), we clinched a playoff spot, and I was just happy to be a part of it."

Skinner signed a one-year, $3-million contract with Edmonton as a free agent on July 1, 2024, in part, to experience the postseason. The 32-year-old played his first eight seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, who selected him with the No. 7 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft, and then the next six seasons with the Buffalo Sabres. Neither team qualified for the playoffs during Skinner's tenure.

"It's a long time. That's a great career for most, so the fact he never played in a playoff game is unique, obviously," McDavid said. "It's exciting for him to get that opportunity. We know how much fun it is, we know it's the best time of year. You hear that all the time, but it is the best hockey. It's so fun. I'm glad that he'll get that experience."

Playing more than 1,000 games is a major milestone for an NHL player. Not to play a playoff game over that span, however, seems unfathomable.

"I think for a guy like Jeff Skinner, who has paid his dues and has been around the block a few times and has made a lot of money, there's nothing like playing in the playoffs and getting on a run, getting on a heater," TNT analyst and former NHL forward Eddie Olczyk said on the "NHL @TheRink" podcast. "That's why most guys play, to get that opportunity to play for the greatest trophy in all of professional sports."

Skinner was able to sign with Edmonton after Buffalo bought out the final three seasons of his eight-year, $72-million contract ($9 million average annual value) on June 30, 2024. The Oilers went to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season, losing 2-1 to the Florida Panthers, and were expected to qualify for the playoffs again this year.

"For me coming here, my first year here, I knew we had a pretty good team, and I was trying to be a part of it," Skinner said. "It's a good feeling. You kind of work towards it all year, and we worked together towards it and now we try to get rolling."

The Oilers are a playoff savvy team, having qualified for the postseason for the sixth consecutive season. This season will also be the fourth straight time Edmonton will play Los Angeles in the first round (the Oilers won the previous three series).

Having Skinner along for the ride this season puts a new perspective on the playoffs for some of the Oilers.

"You see his excitement," Oilers defenseman Brett Kulak said. "I've been fortunate to play a lot in the playoffs, but there's guys who don't always have that opportunity. You have to be lucky to be in the playoffs and you see guys that play a long time and don't get the opportunity, and you see that happen like Jeff. You have to appreciate it for sure, and it's nice when he comes in and makes the playoffs and you get a fresh look at it again through his eyes."

Skinner was unfortunate to play for two rebuilding teams through his first 14 seasons. Carolina did not qualify for the playoffs in nine consecutive seasons from 2009-10 to 2017-18. Buffalo has not qualified for the playoffs since 2010-11.

"I would think, at this point in his career, there is a relief to it and a real excitement for him," said Panthers coach Paul Maurice, who coached Skinner in Carolina. "You find as these men get older, they cherish that part of the game, the playoff experience, more than any other. You find these older guys just elevate their game on emotion alone. It is cherished more, certainly. It is a great experience for those guys, a great experience for everyone involved, but if you have to wait for anything, you cherish it more."

Oilers forward Zach Hyman played minor hockey with Skinner in Toronto and was also selected in the 2010 NHL Draft, chosen by Florida in the fifth round (No. 123). Hyman has 62 points (35 goals, 27 assists) in 85 playoff games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Oilers.

"If you told us at seven or eight that we would be playing together in the NHL playoffs that, would have been pretty cool. I don't think we would have believed you," Hyman said. "Obviously, we're happy for him to be able to get a playoff experience. He's been in the League a long time, been a really productive player for a really long time, and it's a team sport. You don't fully control whether you make the playoffs, it's an entire team, and he just had some bad luck being on teams that were unable to get there."

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