That’s really the only bad year and we have a wave of cheap prospects coming soon. Friedman mentions in the video they probably care more about the $7mil it saves next season knowing their jobs are on the line.
Also, would you rather a $6.4M cap penalty and $2.6M player, or Jeff Skinner in three years at 34 years old? That year is likely more neutral than negative, it's only the trailing $2.4M in penalties for 3 years after the contract expires that is the main tradeoff for next seasons huge spending spree that it would unlock.
That’s the year any Tuch or Benson extension would kick in. If you aren’t in for Marner or some other high cap hit player now you don’t really need the cap space now. Currently you have a bit over 2 million in cap space per open roster spot. Like you said you have a lot of prospects on ELC’s coming in to fill those spots. There’s no big need to buy out Skinner’s contract now. If you buy it out in 2 years it’s a lower penalty in year 3 and the penalty after year 3 is only 1 more season.
I think the “getting skinner off the roster” factor might matter to them just as much as the cap element of it. His ice time dropped drastically as the season went on and he’s not a style fit for Ruff.
Yep. Our fans mostly want to trade him to get rid of his cap hit but he has a full no move clause. I think a buyout is way more realistic. He still gets to pick where he goes that way.
That would make sense for not trying to trade him for a bag of pucks and 50% retained, which would save them money and cap penalty. Someone would take a chance on him at 4.5 you would think, and less than that in actual money since it was front loaded.
> which would save them money and cap penalty.
It would only save them money (or cap space at least) in years 3 and beyond of the contract/buyout. Retaining 50% makes him more expensive the next 2 seasons (barely the 2nd season, but 3 million more expensive next year) and as we all know a GM isn't gonna be nearly as concerned about year 3 as he is year 1. Adams could be long fired by the time retaining salary was the better choice.
Right, short term is always better than long term lol but not I totally see your point it makes sense from the guy making the decision who is fighting for his job.
I'll bet that's all he wants now. He's made over $70 million career to date so it's not like he's desperate to keep raking in money. A buyout is probably preferable to him because he'd have more options to pick a team he feels has the best shot at the playoffs than whatever team can make room for him assuming it's even a playoff team.
People keep saying that, as if the competition won’t use their own newfound cap space to beef up the roster. This may save a team in danger of losing an important piece, but it won’t stop them from lagging behind teams able to spend 100% on upgrades.
I think the trade-off of buying him out this season would be better compared to buying him out next summer. It obviously unlocks a huge spending spree this year - but then leaves them more constrained every year after that. With how they are positioned on the front end of a lot of long term deals on young guys - I think you could argue that the team is better positioned to peak in 2-3+ years rather than this year, and that would line up better with buying him out next summer.
I have thought this was a possibility all off season for a few reasons:
1) Kevyn Adams when asked about his role next year said “we’re going to evaluate everyone on our team to ice the best roster”
2) Lindy Ruff when asked about him next year said “he’s a player who has scored a lot of goals in his career” (not far off from Krueger’s infamous quote lol)
3) He pretty much stopped scoring the second half of the season with ~7 goals in the final 42 games and 3 of them came at once.
4) He was moved down to the 3rd line by the end of the season. Ruff and Adams have both said they want the bottom 6 to be more abrasive and defensively responsible which is not Skinner who will more likely give Ruff an aneurysm
5) it saves them a lot of money next year and they won’t care about his big cap hit in a few years if they are both fired
I definitely am getting the vibe from the Sabres that next year is really all they are concerned about at this point. They desperately need to make the playoffs so they are willing to do whatever they can to ice the best team next year.
Nothing. It doesn't make any sense to buy him out this year. There's a good $15M in raises coming next year for Buffalo (plus there would be an additional $3M on Skinner's buyout penalty compared to this year) so anything added with the cap space this year would have to be removed to sign the existing core players.
I strongly doubt his job security would improve by throwing $15M of the owner's money on like Marchessault and Stephenson to get them to come to Buffalo for a year.
I vote for a massive offer sheet.
Honestly though, I don't know the Sabres situation or prospect pool too well but they don't look like they have a great forward group and there should be some solid veteran options out there - particularly if guys want their full value and not to take less to stay on teams they know are contending. Stephenson, Lindholm, Monahan, etc.
Plus if they are shopping their 6OA* that could end up with a pretty big cap commitment. I'd bet Carolina would give up the rights to both Necas and Guentzel for it..
^( *Its 11OA, my bad)
> 4) He was moved down to the 3rd line by the end of the season. Ruff and Adams have both said they want the bottom 6 to be more abrasive and defensively responsible which is not Skinner who will more likely give Ruff an aneurysm
Skinner is overpriced right now, but it's still bonkers that there are coaches and GMs still stuck in the 90s when most serious contenders having scoring depth all over their top 9, ideally all four lines. And the ones that don't counterbalance this by having a McDavid, which Buffalo does not currently have. No shit a depth scoring winger isn't going to score when he's on a defensive empty-calorie line whose only purpose is to waste time.
I kind of think you're oversimplifying it.
Sure there's a "bottom six" archetype of player and few teams can find six or more NHL caliber ones who are good enough that they're still a threat to score across their top three lines, so I agree some outside the box thinking is in order, we had Connor Garland on the third line and he was fantastic for eg.
At the same time, a forward who can't remain in the top six on scoring alone *needs* to be defensively responsible and drive possession, whether they're abrasive or not. You can't have some guy floating around on the third line and excuse it because that's not his skill set, whether it is or not you need that line to be able to win or draw tough assignments and a guy who can't (and *also* doesn't score because his linemates don't facilitate it) isn't useful. Particularly if he's on the cap for $9m.
That’s exactly it. Skinner does not even pretend to contribute defensively. If you’re going to be a streaky scorer you need to help when you’re not scoring.
Sometimes you need to oversimplify things in order to shake up out of outdated thinking. The third line is simply going to be the forward line that gets the third most ice time at evens. Your top two lines are going to need to control the play against their top two lines simply by virtue of having more ice time; while you can try line matching a defensive bottom 6, it's more effective to have scoring depth that can control play against their scoring depth.
Skinner is probably comparable to Phil Kessel right now. Obviously overpriced, but still capable of providing scoring depth in a middle 6 powerplay specialist role. His problem is the Sabres are far from being the Cup winning Penguins. And Kessel wouldn't have contributed nearly as well if the Penguins asked him to fit into the traditional bottom 6 defensive archetype.
The thing is though, Skinner isn't really that good at contributing other than purely scoring goals. He isn't a set up guy and isn't that good on faceoffs, so you have a third line guy getting paid $9mil when you could have someone else better at that role there.
And comparing him to Kessel, who not only could do everything that Skinner does but also actually drive play and set things up, while playing guys like Hagelin and Bonino in their primes, just isn't valid in Buffalo's case.
Took me too long to realize we're talking Jeff and not Stuart. I was like damn the man is in the SCF gearing up for game 5 and we're talking a buyout?!
Same! And when I saw the “He scored a lot of goals” quote I was really lost like He’s a Goalie??? I’m sure if a Goalie starts goin ham on Scoring it’d be all over the media?
I feel really silly now
Oh that's info I didn't know. Yeah, Toronto would be a good option then. He's not gritty like Bertuzzi, but maybe he slots into the top 6 as his replacement.
Gritty is maybe the last word I would use to describe skinner hahah. He could provide some nice 5v5 scoring but he’s the definition of an anchor defensively.
Oh I know. I was just saying that he could fill in Bert's spot in the lineup, but I know he wouldn't play a gritty game like Bertuzzi (or Domi for that matter).
I suppose he could always be some depth scoring for Toronto, but I feel like I've read that Skinner doesn't really drive a line on his own.
Would not shock me to see bertuzzi want more term and to cash in while he still can which doesn't really fit with what the Leafs need. This is basically his last shot at a big contract so I would assume he chases money in free agency. Toronto seems like a perfect fit for Skinner because they need guys on team friendly deals. With Skinner making over $70 million career to date without seeing the playoffs I'd wager he's happy to sign for a few million or less with a contender
It's our time. Eichel goes to Vegas wins a cup. Reinhart goes to the Panthers likely wins a cup. Skinner is going to fulfill his destiny and help bring a cup to Toronto
Only OK if:
Skinner scores 15 goals wins Conn Smythe, Matthews scores 1 goal. Despite the win, Toronto media bullies AM34 for not being built for playoffs. AM34 demands a trade. Comes to Buffalo.
"The Zona Boys" AKA "TNT in the AM" leads Buffalo to 5 straight cups.
If we win a cup I don't really care what happens after that. Every single player can demand a trade and we go into a Sabres level rebuild for 15 years I am ok with it.
I had a taste of it from 2004-2016 (outside of that half season we had no business making). It sucked ass.
But i’ve been a fan since the 90’s, my parents have no memory of a cup. I just want to see one in my lifetime. To be honest I am used to cheering for a loser
Bro if the Leafs win a Cup, Auston Matthews could be revealed as one of the 9/11 hijackers and I'd still be okay with it.
Say what you want about Islamic Fundamentalism, but at least it's an ethos.
Oh for sure I was more making a joke than anything. Skinner at a low AAV in a depth role will have no shortage of teams interested if he is indeed bought out.
If he's fine with league minimum, Edmonton could be a potential destination. We'll need cheap to work through the upcoming cap crunch. Other possibilities I see are Vancouver and Vegas for the same reasons. Boston and Toronto are definitely up on that list as well.
I was also thinking maybe a reunion with Carolina but they don't need a player like him right now. Pittsburgh seems interesting but they are not expected to do anything next year.
I don't think he fits our style necessarily. But... We are probably looking for another Drouin/Rodriguez type contract this year to help buffer the Landy/Nuchushkin unknowns.
I wouldn't hate giving him a chance if the price is right?
I guess if you just want to rid yourself of the player, that's fine. But they have over $23M and no big names to sign really - Jokiharju, Luukkonen, and Krebs are all RFAs
Next year is when things get a little tight with Byram, Quinn, and Peterka all expiring RFAs and Alex Tuch eligible for an extension.
If you just waited a year, the buyout is slightly friendlier, not a significant amount, but I also don't see a need for the extra $7.5M in cap space this year when you already have so much, and the top end of the roster pretty much filled out.
Waiting a year would also make the buyout end a year sooner.
Buying him out next summer would save them about $445k against the cap for each of 2025/26-2028/29 AND it would save them $2.45M against the cap in 2029/30. Seems like a lot of 'extra' wasted money for half a decade in order to save $7.5M against the cap this season unless they have something specific in mind for those savings that can't be accomplished with the $23M they currently have.
It's better for Skinner I think, he loses 7m on his remaining salary but gains the ability to sign a new contract. If he signs somewhere for 2m/3yrs he's made his money back. I have a hard time believing he couldn't swing that if he's healthy.
For the team though I would think retention is strictly better than the buyout option. Even retaining 50% is worse in year 1, the same in year 2, much better in year 3 and then your done. None of this 6 year dead cap nonsense. It might cost a sweetener but he's a better player than most cap dumps, his negative value with a reduced cap hit won't be that much.
If he gets bought out I'd have to think it was his preferred option over getting traded, since he can make the money back and he'll get to choose where to go.
No, the player gets the full amount of their signing bonuses + 2/3rds of their remaining salary. Skinner doesn't have any signing bonuses in his remaining years so its just his $22m in remaining salary multiplied by 2/3rds, meaning he'll lose out on that last 1/3 or around $7.3m.
The amount of money he's actually paid (~$14.7m) is called the yearly buyout cost and its spread out over double the remaining length of the contract. That cost is then subtracted from his actual salary to get the cap hit savings. For example his yearly buyout cost is $2.4m and the first year he's owed $10m in salary. That means his savings for this year is $7.6m. They then subtract $7.6m from his $9m cap hit and get $1.4m for the first year of the buyout.
Sorry I just like talking about cap hits and buyouts.
So it would be worth it in the immediate time to buyout for that cap space, by the time it becomes a big hit, the cap is higher and you hopefully have a better team
I could see it if Adams is under fire and it's playoffs or bust for him since it frees ~7.5M cap for the next season. At that point, he might be more concerned about today rather than the cap situation 2-3 years later.
I am now pretty solidly team buyout. I’d rather take his spot on the 3rd line and give it to another type of player. He’s too inconsistent to be paying him 9mil a year.
He’s so inconsistent. Some years he’s one of the biggest laughing stocks in the league, and other years Sabre fans are gonna fight people for saying anything negative about him.
his cap hit is pretty rough but he was better than point per game a year ago? what's the plan if they move on from him? what are they gonna do with the cap space?
Would love for the devils to be able to take advantage of players who get bought out but are still good players or want one year prove it deals like Dallas did with duchene or leafs with bertuzzi. Skinner would be a great depth piece on a playoff team.
Honestly, why? They have so much cap space. They’re probably not going to hit the ceiling even if they don’t buy him out so does it accomplish other than extending the pain
Would have loved to see what he could do with Svechnikov out there making a ton of space for him, but no, Rod doesn't like guys who can't play defense and Skinner is very bad at it.
Year 3 looks rough: [https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-calculator/jeff-skinner](https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-calculator/jeff-skinner)
That’s really the only bad year and we have a wave of cheap prospects coming soon. Friedman mentions in the video they probably care more about the $7mil it saves next season knowing their jobs are on the line.
Also, would you rather a $6.4M cap penalty and $2.6M player, or Jeff Skinner in three years at 34 years old? That year is likely more neutral than negative, it's only the trailing $2.4M in penalties for 3 years after the contract expires that is the main tradeoff for next seasons huge spending spree that it would unlock.
That’s the year any Tuch or Benson extension would kick in. If you aren’t in for Marner or some other high cap hit player now you don’t really need the cap space now. Currently you have a bit over 2 million in cap space per open roster spot. Like you said you have a lot of prospects on ELC’s coming in to fill those spots. There’s no big need to buy out Skinner’s contract now. If you buy it out in 2 years it’s a lower penalty in year 3 and the penalty after year 3 is only 1 more season.
I think the “getting skinner off the roster” factor might matter to them just as much as the cap element of it. His ice time dropped drastically as the season went on and he’s not a style fit for Ruff.
Yea and the cap will be much higher then too.
Yep. Our fans mostly want to trade him to get rid of his cap hit but he has a full no move clause. I think a buyout is way more realistic. He still gets to pick where he goes that way.
That would make sense for not trying to trade him for a bag of pucks and 50% retained, which would save them money and cap penalty. Someone would take a chance on him at 4.5 you would think, and less than that in actual money since it was front loaded.
> which would save them money and cap penalty. It would only save them money (or cap space at least) in years 3 and beyond of the contract/buyout. Retaining 50% makes him more expensive the next 2 seasons (barely the 2nd season, but 3 million more expensive next year) and as we all know a GM isn't gonna be nearly as concerned about year 3 as he is year 1. Adams could be long fired by the time retaining salary was the better choice.
Right, short term is always better than long term lol but not I totally see your point it makes sense from the guy making the decision who is fighting for his job.
I just want to see this guy play in a playoff game, I feel so bad for the guy.
I'll bet that's all he wants now. He's made over $70 million career to date so it's not like he's desperate to keep raking in money. A buyout is probably preferable to him because he'd have more options to pick a team he feels has the best shot at the playoffs than whatever team can make room for him assuming it's even a playoff team.
Maybe he should play defense then
Trade him to a team that hates Montréal, the guy has an average of 3 goals per game against us or something lol
If he signs cheap…..I know a spot
People keep saying that, as if the competition won’t use their own newfound cap space to beef up the roster. This may save a team in danger of losing an important piece, but it won’t stop them from lagging behind teams able to spend 100% on upgrades.
The buyout is still lightyears better than Christian Ehrhoff's was...this would actually end before the Ehrhoff buyout ends...Jesus Christ.
That was a compliance buyout though yes? So no cap hit
It's still cheaper than having him on the roster that year though, plus the 3 extra years aren't too bad with the rising cap.
I think the trade-off of buying him out this season would be better compared to buying him out next summer. It obviously unlocks a huge spending spree this year - but then leaves them more constrained every year after that. With how they are positioned on the front end of a lot of long term deals on young guys - I think you could argue that the team is better positioned to peak in 2-3+ years rather than this year, and that would line up better with buying him out next summer.
It looks better than the $9m they would be paying him to play that year. If he's a 20-20 guy now, what will he be then?
I have thought this was a possibility all off season for a few reasons: 1) Kevyn Adams when asked about his role next year said “we’re going to evaluate everyone on our team to ice the best roster” 2) Lindy Ruff when asked about him next year said “he’s a player who has scored a lot of goals in his career” (not far off from Krueger’s infamous quote lol) 3) He pretty much stopped scoring the second half of the season with ~7 goals in the final 42 games and 3 of them came at once. 4) He was moved down to the 3rd line by the end of the season. Ruff and Adams have both said they want the bottom 6 to be more abrasive and defensively responsible which is not Skinner who will more likely give Ruff an aneurysm 5) it saves them a lot of money next year and they won’t care about his big cap hit in a few years if they are both fired
>they won’t care about his big cap hit in a few years if they are both fired Ah, the Jim Benning approach
I compare it to an NFL GM trading a bunch to draft a quarterback. The Bills GM admitted it was his mindset when he got Josh Allen.
I definitely am getting the vibe from the Sabres that next year is really all they are concerned about at this point. They desperately need to make the playoffs so they are willing to do whatever they can to ice the best team next year.
Ironically, being desperate to end the drought is how we ended up with his contract in the first place. Only right we fuck it up on the back end too
As is tradition
ok but so what do they do with the cap space gained that makes them better next year? not a super strong FA class
Nothing. It doesn't make any sense to buy him out this year. There's a good $15M in raises coming next year for Buffalo (plus there would be an additional $3M on Skinner's buyout penalty compared to this year) so anything added with the cap space this year would have to be removed to sign the existing core players. I strongly doubt his job security would improve by throwing $15M of the owner's money on like Marchessault and Stephenson to get them to come to Buffalo for a year.
I vote for a massive offer sheet. Honestly though, I don't know the Sabres situation or prospect pool too well but they don't look like they have a great forward group and there should be some solid veteran options out there - particularly if guys want their full value and not to take less to stay on teams they know are contending. Stephenson, Lindholm, Monahan, etc. Plus if they are shopping their 6OA* that could end up with a pretty big cap commitment. I'd bet Carolina would give up the rights to both Necas and Guentzel for it.. ^( *Its 11OA, my bad)
utah has the 6th, buf has the 11th
Whoops! Thanks. Got my pick shoppers confused.
You can make a trade for someone else and not worry so much about their cap hit.
> 4) He was moved down to the 3rd line by the end of the season. Ruff and Adams have both said they want the bottom 6 to be more abrasive and defensively responsible which is not Skinner who will more likely give Ruff an aneurysm Skinner is overpriced right now, but it's still bonkers that there are coaches and GMs still stuck in the 90s when most serious contenders having scoring depth all over their top 9, ideally all four lines. And the ones that don't counterbalance this by having a McDavid, which Buffalo does not currently have. No shit a depth scoring winger isn't going to score when he's on a defensive empty-calorie line whose only purpose is to waste time.
I kind of think you're oversimplifying it. Sure there's a "bottom six" archetype of player and few teams can find six or more NHL caliber ones who are good enough that they're still a threat to score across their top three lines, so I agree some outside the box thinking is in order, we had Connor Garland on the third line and he was fantastic for eg. At the same time, a forward who can't remain in the top six on scoring alone *needs* to be defensively responsible and drive possession, whether they're abrasive or not. You can't have some guy floating around on the third line and excuse it because that's not his skill set, whether it is or not you need that line to be able to win or draw tough assignments and a guy who can't (and *also* doesn't score because his linemates don't facilitate it) isn't useful. Particularly if he's on the cap for $9m.
That’s exactly it. Skinner does not even pretend to contribute defensively. If you’re going to be a streaky scorer you need to help when you’re not scoring.
Sometimes you need to oversimplify things in order to shake up out of outdated thinking. The third line is simply going to be the forward line that gets the third most ice time at evens. Your top two lines are going to need to control the play against their top two lines simply by virtue of having more ice time; while you can try line matching a defensive bottom 6, it's more effective to have scoring depth that can control play against their scoring depth. Skinner is probably comparable to Phil Kessel right now. Obviously overpriced, but still capable of providing scoring depth in a middle 6 powerplay specialist role. His problem is the Sabres are far from being the Cup winning Penguins. And Kessel wouldn't have contributed nearly as well if the Penguins asked him to fit into the traditional bottom 6 defensive archetype.
The thing is though, Skinner isn't really that good at contributing other than purely scoring goals. He isn't a set up guy and isn't that good on faceoffs, so you have a third line guy getting paid $9mil when you could have someone else better at that role there. And comparing him to Kessel, who not only could do everything that Skinner does but also actually drive play and set things up, while playing guys like Hagelin and Bonino in their primes, just isn't valid in Buffalo's case.
He stopped scoring when he was in our top 6 and gradually made his way down our lineup. His ice time steadily decreased as the season went on.
Took me too long to realize we're talking Jeff and not Stuart. I was like damn the man is in the SCF gearing up for game 5 and we're talking a buyout?!
Same! And when I saw the “He scored a lot of goals” quote I was really lost like He’s a Goalie??? I’m sure if a Goalie starts goin ham on Scoring it’d be all over the media? I feel really silly now
What a classic Bill move.
Thanks for clearing that up. I was like WTF kind of motivation is that?
Buying out our 2.6m starter instead of our 5m AHL goalie would certainly be a choice
I'm glad I'm not the only one.
Jeff be free and prosper but please don’t go Leafs
He’s 100% going to the leafs if this happens
I think Edmonton is the best option for him
He reportedly was only willing to waive his no trade last time for here or Toronto to be close to home. I have a hard time seeing him go to Edmonton.
Oh that's info I didn't know. Yeah, Toronto would be a good option then. He's not gritty like Bertuzzi, but maybe he slots into the top 6 as his replacement.
Gritty is maybe the last word I would use to describe skinner hahah. He could provide some nice 5v5 scoring but he’s the definition of an anchor defensively.
Oh I know. I was just saying that he could fill in Bert's spot in the lineup, but I know he wouldn't play a gritty game like Bertuzzi (or Domi for that matter). I suppose he could always be some depth scoring for Toronto, but I feel like I've read that Skinner doesn't really drive a line on his own.
Would not shock me to see bertuzzi want more term and to cash in while he still can which doesn't really fit with what the Leafs need. This is basically his last shot at a big contract so I would assume he chases money in free agency. Toronto seems like a perfect fit for Skinner because they need guys on team friendly deals. With Skinner making over $70 million career to date without seeing the playoffs I'd wager he's happy to sign for a few million or less with a contender
That's my expectation on how this all plays out
Well if he wants to play for a cup... league minimum and he can play 2nd/3rd line minutes in Edmonton
Needs more whiff of scandal.
Given how he always performs against Montreal, *someone* in the Atlantic should snap him up!
Marner for Skinner who says no
Marner for Skinner (50% retained) plus I don't know what else?
Leafs need him for his long track record of playoff success
Never lost a playoff game!
Maybe Skinner is the forward version of Ron Hainsey. Just needs to make it once.
It's our time. Eichel goes to Vegas wins a cup. Reinhart goes to the Panthers likely wins a cup. Skinner is going to fulfill his destiny and help bring a cup to Toronto
Only OK if: Skinner scores 15 goals wins Conn Smythe, Matthews scores 1 goal. Despite the win, Toronto media bullies AM34 for not being built for playoffs. AM34 demands a trade. Comes to Buffalo. "The Zona Boys" AKA "TNT in the AM" leads Buffalo to 5 straight cups.
If we win a cup I don't really care what happens after that. Every single player can demand a trade and we go into a Sabres level rebuild for 15 years I am ok with it.
Listen, I know you say that hypothetically having finally won the cup - but I wouldn't wish this level of torment on anyone.... not even a Leafs fan.
I had a taste of it from 2004-2016 (outside of that half season we had no business making). It sucked ass. But i’ve been a fan since the 90’s, my parents have no memory of a cup. I just want to see one in my lifetime. To be honest I am used to cheering for a loser
Bro if the Leafs win a Cup, Auston Matthews could be revealed as one of the 9/11 hijackers and I'd still be okay with it. Say what you want about Islamic Fundamentalism, but at least it's an ethos.
Ristolainen goes to Philly and never makes the playoffs. It would be a shame if we played him significantly more than every other player you listed.
Only thing he’s going to do is make y’all miss the playoffs.
Vegas it is.
Panthers for 2x3
Panthers go back to the finals with Skinner, Olofsson, Girgensons, Jost, Comrie, and Erik Johnson challenge
For the love of God please not the Leafs
I will gladly take him on Montreal simply so he stops burning the Habs. Swear he becomes a monster against us every time.
I think if anything, hes trying to go to a playoff contender to at least sniff it once. So likely Toronto or Boston.
Oh for sure I was more making a joke than anything. Skinner at a low AAV in a depth role will have no shortage of teams interested if he is indeed bought out.
I bet Canucks take a swing at him because Petey needs a good shooter stapled to him
If he's fine with league minimum, Edmonton could be a potential destination. We'll need cheap to work through the upcoming cap crunch. Other possibilities I see are Vancouver and Vegas for the same reasons. Boston and Toronto are definitely up on that list as well.
I was also thinking maybe a reunion with Carolina but they don't need a player like him right now. Pittsburgh seems interesting but they are not expected to do anything next year.
No to Toronto for him. I'm sure he wants more than 7 games.
That Superintendent Chalmers sound bite is burned into my brain from the number of times I've heard it in Buffalo games.
He’ll likely go the duchene route and take a cheap 1 year on a contender
I don't think he fits our style necessarily. But... We are probably looking for another Drouin/Rodriguez type contract this year to help buffer the Landy/Nuchushkin unknowns. I wouldn't hate giving him a chance if the price is right?
Skinner’s complete lack of defensive responsibility definitely doesn’t jive with our system unfortunately
I definitely agree. I just also thought that about Drouin too, and he really proved me wrong. So I'm more open to it than I thought I would be.
Jeff Skinner… YOU are a Dallas Star!
It would be truly hilarious if he won a cup on Eichel's wing in Vegas, particularly after Reinhart wins this year and Eichel winning in 2023.
Get ready to learn Edmontonese buddy
I guess if you just want to rid yourself of the player, that's fine. But they have over $23M and no big names to sign really - Jokiharju, Luukkonen, and Krebs are all RFAs Next year is when things get a little tight with Byram, Quinn, and Peterka all expiring RFAs and Alex Tuch eligible for an extension. If you just waited a year, the buyout is slightly friendlier, not a significant amount, but I also don't see a need for the extra $7.5M in cap space this year when you already have so much, and the top end of the roster pretty much filled out.
You also have to take the rising cap into account here which will give a little more flex going forward
Waiting a year would also make the buyout end a year sooner. Buying him out next summer would save them about $445k against the cap for each of 2025/26-2028/29 AND it would save them $2.45M against the cap in 2029/30. Seems like a lot of 'extra' wasted money for half a decade in order to save $7.5M against the cap this season unless they have something specific in mind for those savings that can't be accomplished with the $23M they currently have.
It's better for Skinner I think, he loses 7m on his remaining salary but gains the ability to sign a new contract. If he signs somewhere for 2m/3yrs he's made his money back. I have a hard time believing he couldn't swing that if he's healthy. For the team though I would think retention is strictly better than the buyout option. Even retaining 50% is worse in year 1, the same in year 2, much better in year 3 and then your done. None of this 6 year dead cap nonsense. It might cost a sweetener but he's a better player than most cap dumps, his negative value with a reduced cap hit won't be that much. If he gets bought out I'd have to think it was his preferred option over getting traded, since he can make the money back and he'll get to choose where to go.
Does he lose money at all? I thought they pay out the contract but the buy out penalty is less. He should still get paid the full amount no?
No, the player gets the full amount of their signing bonuses + 2/3rds of their remaining salary. Skinner doesn't have any signing bonuses in his remaining years so its just his $22m in remaining salary multiplied by 2/3rds, meaning he'll lose out on that last 1/3 or around $7.3m. The amount of money he's actually paid (~$14.7m) is called the yearly buyout cost and its spread out over double the remaining length of the contract. That cost is then subtracted from his actual salary to get the cap hit savings. For example his yearly buyout cost is $2.4m and the first year he's owed $10m in salary. That means his savings for this year is $7.6m. They then subtract $7.6m from his $9m cap hit and get $1.4m for the first year of the buyout. Sorry I just like talking about cap hits and buyouts.
So it would be worth it in the immediate time to buyout for that cap space, by the time it becomes a big hit, the cap is higher and you hopefully have a better team
he gets 2/3 of the $$$ cause he's >26. if he was <26, he'd only get 1/3 https://www.capfriendly.com/buyout-faq
I could see it if Adams is under fire and it's playoffs or bust for him since it frees ~7.5M cap for the next season. At that point, he might be more concerned about today rather than the cap situation 2-3 years later.
I mean… even with 7.5 million in cap space I don’t think the Sabres are gonna be contenders.
I am now pretty solidly team buyout. I’d rather take his spot on the 3rd line and give it to another type of player. He’s too inconsistent to be paying him 9mil a year.
He’s so inconsistent. Some years he’s one of the biggest laughing stocks in the league, and other years Sabre fans are gonna fight people for saying anything negative about him.
his cap hit is pretty rough but he was better than point per game a year ago? what's the plan if they move on from him? what are they gonna do with the cap space?
I don’t understand it. They have money to spend and aren’t really contending. Why not just ride it out
Would love for the devils to be able to take advantage of players who get bought out but are still good players or want one year prove it deals like Dallas did with duchene or leafs with bertuzzi. Skinner would be a great depth piece on a playoff team.
Interesting…
PLEASE GO WEST AND LEAVE US ALONE JEFF
Come home Jefe
Let's send him away. Good enough guy but his style is very selfish and it brings down everyone on his lines. Get him out of here
I still can't believe they signed him to that contract.
Honestly, why? They have so much cap space. They’re probably not going to hit the ceiling even if they don’t buy him out so does it accomplish other than extending the pain
certified bum
Is it too much to ask that Jeff Skinner retire as a Hurricane, win a Cup as a Hurricane and score his 500th goal as a Hurricane?
I wonder if he would go back to Carolina, seems like he might fit there depending on how much money he wants
Would have loved to see what he could do with Svechnikov out there making a ton of space for him, but no, Rod doesn't like guys who can't play defense and Skinner is very bad at it.
No thanks. We have enjoyed making the playoffs.
I don't think Rod is a fan