Headlines

  • Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov
  • Blues Waive Nick Leddy
  • Nikolaj Ehlers Expected To Sign Today
  • Oilers Sign Andrew Mangiapane To Two-Year Deal
  • Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers
  • Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93
  • Previous
  • Next
Register
Login
  • MLB Trade Rumors
  • Hoops Rumors
  • Pro Football Rumors

Pro Hockey Rumors

  • Home
  • Teams
    • Atlantic
      • Boston Bruins
      • Buffalo Sabres
      • Detroit Red Wings
      • Florida Panthers
      • Montreal Canadiens
      • Ottawa Senators
      • Tampa Bay Lightning
      • Toronto Maple Leafs
    • Central
      • Chicago Blackhawks
      • Colorado Avalanche
      • Dallas Stars
      • Minnesota Wild
      • Nashville Predators
      • St. Louis Blues
      • Utah Mammoth
      • Winnipeg Jets
    • Metropolitan
      • Carolina Hurricanes
      • Columbus Blue Jackets
      • New Jersey Devils
      • New York Islanders
      • New York Rangers
      • Philadelphia Flyers
      • Pittsburgh Penguins
      • Washington Capitals
    • Pacific
      • Anaheim Ducks
      • Calgary Flames
      • Edmonton Oilers
      • Los Angeles Kings
      • San Jose Sharks
      • Seattle Kraken
      • Vancouver Canucks
      • Vegas Golden Knights
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • Partners
    • MLB Trade Rumors
    • Hoops Rumors
    • Pro Football Rumors
Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Latest On Jeff Skinner

February 25, 2021 at 3:14 pm CDT | by Gavin Lee 9 Comments

Often, a big regulation win can calm the sea for a team that’s trying to bail water from a sinking ship. The Buffalo Sabres got that kind of a win on Tuesday night when they dispatched the New Jersey Devils 4-1, but it took 41 saves from Linus Ullmark and there still wasn’t a goal from their two top forwards. Their ankles, at least, still seem to be submerged.

Today, after sitting out the last three games as a healthy scratch, Jeff Skinner was absent from the morning skate. The $72MM dollar man seems completely forgotten by head coach Ralph Krueger, who denied having a “doghouse” today but didn’t share any real insight on the situation. That doesn’t mean people aren’t looking for answers.

Lance Lysowski of the Buffalo News reports that Skinner’s agent, Don Meehan of Newport Sports, had a “lengthy conversation” on Wednesday with Sabres GM Kevyn Adams, expressing his concerns over the situation.

It has been an incredible fall from grace for Skinner, who signed his eight-year, $72MM deal with the Sabres in 2019 after scoring 40 goals in his first year in Buffalo. Those goals mostly came while riding shotgun with Jack Eichel, but it’s not like it was the first time he had performed at the NHL level. Skinner had been a 30+ goal scorer on three previous occasions, including a 37-goal campaign in 2016-17.

But after signing it, and since Krueger took over as head coach, Skinner has just 14 goals and 24 points in 73 games. He now finds himself out of the lineup completely, certainly not something he expected after 734 career NHL games and at the age of 28.

So to hear that concerns were expressed shouldn’t come as a shock, not at this point.

But what can be done? The Sabres would likely have to eat a huge portion of the deal to trade Skinner, and even that would have further complications. The player holds a no-move clause, meaning his camp would have to be involved in the conversation, and very few teams are looking to add salary right now. Though Skinner’s money drops off at the end of the deal, he’s still owed $10MM in each of the next four seasons.

One has to wonder whether a buyout, as historic as it would be, is a possibility at this point. The money would be paid out over 12 seasons, but the highest cap charge would be in 2022-23 at $8.97MM. Two other seasons would have boosted numbers, but the vast majority would have something under $2.5MM. That’s doable, especially for a team that doesn’t really look close to contending anyway.

A move like that is far down the road–the buyout window doesn’t open until the summer–but it’s obvious there needs to be some kind of resolution to this issue. The best solution would be Skinner getting back to his top-six, goal-scoring ways; but that seems like an era ago at this point.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Share 0 Retweet 0 Send via email

Buffalo Sabres| Ralph Krueger Jeff Skinner

Maple Leafs Confirm Broken Foot For Rasmus Sandin
Main
COVID Protocol Related Absences: 02/25/21
View Comments (9)

Comments

  1. DarkSide830

    4 years ago

    poor Linus is getting no help.

    2
    Reply
    • The Mistake of Giving Eugene Melnyk a Liver Transplant

      4 years ago

      He covers that net like a blanket!

      Reply
  2. Don Trottier

    4 years ago

    Hint…has anyone looked at how his ice time with Jack has gone AFTER the all-star game they were together on ?

    Reply
  3. 66TheNumberOfTheBest

    4 years ago

    What is Meehan’s concern, per se?

    “I don’t care how lousy he is, you should play Jeff Skinner, you are paying him a fortune! And thank you for that, by the way.” – DM

    I’m pretty sure the Sabres would prefer that he be effective and in the lineup over this outcome.

    Reply
  4. Don Trottier

    4 years ago

    PS…Am I the only fan on this planet who watches other teams ALL OUT ATTACK as soon as they see Eichel’s line on the ice ?

    Reply
  5. Don Trottier

    4 years ago

    PS 2…The Instigators ( great show guys ) have been calling it the “defensive structure” of the Sabres for over 2 seasons BUT Steve Smith is still the coach?????

    Reply
  6. TL4

    4 years ago

    I’ve played, watched and written on a lot of hockey, but I have never heard “their ankles, at least, still seem to be submerged.”

    Does that mean that the Sabres’ top-two forwards – I take it that means Eichel and Skinner – are doing something like skating in quicksand?

    Reply
    • itsmeheyhi

      4 years ago

      I think its related to the earlier sentence about bailing water from a sinking ship.

      1
      Reply
  7. LarryJ4

    4 years ago

    Until Pegula lets Adams be a real GM and let’s him make decisions like a GM and find his OWN coach, this team is doomed. Krueger acts like a team executive more than an actual coach! He’s NEVER BEEN SUCCESSFUL, and clearly will never be.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Please login to leave a reply.

Log in Register

    Top Stories

    Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov

    Blues Waive Nick Leddy

    Nikolaj Ehlers Expected To Sign Today

    Oilers Sign Andrew Mangiapane To Two-Year Deal

    Hurricanes Acquire K’Andre Miller In Sign-And-Trade With Rangers

    Alex Delvecchio Passes Away At Age 93

    Sabres Sign Ryan McLeod To Four-Year Deal

    Rangers, Will Cuylle Agree To Two-Year Deal

    Kings Sign Cody Ceci, Brian Dumoulin, Anton Forsberg

    Ducks Sign Mikael Granlund To Three-Year Deal

    Recent

    Brent Burns Signs One-Year Deal with The Avalanche

    Senators Sign Forward Hayden Hodgson, Goaltenders Hunter Shepard and Jackson Parsons

    Kings Sign Samuel Bolduc, Logan Brown, Cole Guttman

    Canucks Sign Defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph

    Jets Sign Gustav Nyquist

    Flames Sign Morgan Frost To Two-Year Extension

    Islanders Sign Maxim Shabanov

    Blues Sign Pius Suter To Two-Year Contract

    Golden Knights Sign Kaedan Korczak To Four-Year Extension, Jeremy Davies To Two-Year Deal

    Red Wings Sign Mason Appleton To Two-Year Deal

    Rumors By Team

    Rumors By Team

    • Avalanche Rumors
    • Blackhawks Rumors
    • Blue Jackets Rumors
    • Blues Rumors
    • Bruins Rumors
    • Canadiens Rumors
    • Canucks Rumors
    • Capitals Rumors
    • Devils Rumors
    • Ducks Rumors
    • Flames Rumors
    • Flyers Rumors
    • Golden Knights Rumors
    • Hurricanes Rumors
    • Islanders Rumors
    • Jets Rumors
    • Kings Rumors
    • Kraken Rumors
    • Lightning Rumors
    • Mammoth Rumors
    • Maple Leafs Rumors
    • Oilers Rumors
    • Panthers Rumors
    • Penguins Rumors
    • Predators Rumors
    • Rangers Rumors
    • Red Wings Rumors
    • Sabres Rumors
    • Senators Rumors
    • Sharks Rumors
    • Stars Rumors
    • Wild Rumors

    Latest Rumors & News

    Latest Rumors & News

    • 2025’s Top 50 Unrestricted Free Agents
    • Sam Bennett Rumors
    • Nikolaj Ehlers Rumors
    • Mitch Marner Rumors
    • Marco Rossi Rumors

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    Pro Hockey Rumors Features

    • Support Pro Hockey Rumors And Go Ad-Free
    • 2025 Free Agent Focus Series
    • 2025 Offseason Checklist Series
    • 2025 NHL Free Agent List
    • 2026 NHL Free Agent List
    • Active Roster Tracker
    • Coaching Staff Directory
    • Draft Pick Tracker 2025
    • Key Offseason Dates
    • Offseason Trade Tracker
    • Pro Hockey Rumors On X
    • Pro Hockey Rumors Polls
    • Waiver Claims 2024-25

     

     

     

    Navigation

    • Sitemap
    • Archives

    PHR Info

    • About
    • Privacy Policy
    • Commenting Policy

    Connect

    • Contact Us
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS Feed

    Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

    scroll to top

    Register

    Desktop Version | Switch To Mobile Version