Jeff Skinner Latest To Enter Trade Deadline Rumor Mill

The Carolina Hurricanes made a strong statement today when they waived Marcus Kruger and Josh Jooris, unwilling to continue their current level of mediocrity. That comes just after Frank Seravalli of TSN included forward Jeff Skinner on the latest edition of his Trade Bait board, stating that the Hurricanes could listen on the 25-year old sniper.

Skinner is no stranger to TSN’s Trade Bait board, having first appeared two seasons ago. But this time there seems to be a growing friction between him and Peters that is likely destined to come to a head – whether in the next two weeks or the summer.

While it’s not overly surprising that Skinner would find himself among the rumor mill, the idea that there is a friction between player and coach is certainly one to monitor over the coming weeks. If there is something irreparable between the two, trading Skinner before he enters the final season of his contract would offer an increased value. The three-time 30-goal scorer is poised to be part of the incredible class of unrestricted agents in the summer of 2019, alongside other names like Tyler Seguin, Artemi Panarin, Blake Wheeler and many, many others.

The Hurricanes currently sit a single point out of a wildcard position in the Eastern Conference, but have lost their last three games and are just 4-5-1 in their last ten. Skinner meanwhile has just two points (one at even strength) in those ten games, and carries a -6 rating. His overall production on the season sits at 15 goals and 31 points, but hasn’t come close to matching the 37-goal output from a year ago.

Still, the Carolina forward would have plenty of suitors if he were to be willing to waive his no-movement clause. Teams from all over the league would love to add a dynamic offensive presence like him, and his $5.73MM cap hit is far from prohibitive. With less than three weeks before the trade deadline, we won’t have to wait long to find out.