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Jeff Skinner

Buffalo’s Jeff Skinner Made A Healthy Scratch

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Feb. 23: Another night, another Sabres game in which Skinner and his $9MM cap hit will watch from the press box. NHL.com’s Mike Morreale confirms that Skinner will be a healthy scratch again on Tuesday night, indicating that this was not just a one-off decision by Krueger to send a message to his expensive, underperforming star. It may in fact beg the question of whether there will be more scratches or games played from Skinner over the rest of the season, especially if Buffalo continues to struggle.

Feb. 22: Skinner will indeed be in the press box tonight, a healthy scratch for the Sabres. John Vogl of The Athletic relays the explanation from Krueger:

We don’t measure players only on statistics. It’s part of the mix. It is just a bit of a gut feel that the best lineup for tonight was with Casey Mittelstadt in that spot. It’s less against Jeff than it is for what we think this group needs today. There will be underlying messages, of course, anytime somebody doesn’t play. But in the end, the decisions are for the team and for the group and for the chance to win. I just think it’s good for Jeff to take a look once from the outside.

Feb. 21: The Buffalo Sabres were hoping that after signing his eight-year, $72MM deal back in 2019 that Jeff Skinner was going to continue to put up big numbers. After all, the forward was coming off a 40-goal season in 2018-19. However, he struggled last year, putting up just 14 goals in 59 games and now has failed to score this season in 14 contests.

With the Sabres struggling in last place in the East Division with just five wins, head coach Ralph Krueger is looking to make some changes. After benching Henri Jokiharju and Tage Thompson on Saturday, Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington writes that Krueger is now focusing on Skinner. During practice Sunday, Casey Mittelstadt skated in Skinner’s place, while Skinner skated with Curtis Lazar and taxi squad forward Rasmus Asplund. A final decision on whether Skinner stays in the lineup will come on Monday.

Skinner played a season-low 11:22 against New Jersey Saturday even though he had four shots, which tied for a season high. However, he had just three shots on goal in the back-to-back games against the New York Islanders last week in which he went shot-less in the second game.

“We will continue to analyze postgame what we feel and what we see,” Krueger said. “And look for the mix that we believe gives us as a team within the roles we need the best chance to be successful. You saw a potential change in the mix today. We won’t confirm it till tomorrow. But it’s how we function here. We look honestly at production. We look honestly at the inputs in and around the team game that we need, and try and put that mix in place that gives us a chance.”

Skinner currently is tied for the league lead in shots on goal without a goal, tied with New York Rangers forward Phillip Di Giuseppe, each with 31 shots on goal (and no goals). The fact that he also has just one assist doesn’t help his case either. Regardless, Skinner believes that sitting out isn’t the answer.

“This is my 11th year, over 700 games in the league and I don’t think I’ve ever really felt like I needed a day off to relook at things,” Skinner said. “I think I’ve seen a lot in this league. Run through adversity before my career. You just work, keep working and put your head down. And that’s what I’ll do.”

Speculation Swirling Around Buffalo Sabres

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The Buffalo Sabres are losing again. Even with the offseason excitement of pairing Taylor Hall with Jack Eichel, the team is at the bottom of the East Division standings, sitting 4-6-2 with just 31 goals in 12 games. That MVP-caliber pair has produced just three goals combined, including just a single tally at even-strength. Add in the zero goals that Jeff Skinner has provided and the Sabres have just three for the combined $27MM cap hit of that trio. With that kind of offensive ineptitude from their highest-paid players, speculation about trades was bound to spark up.

Today, Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet joined The Instigators on WGR550 in Buffalo and spent nearly 15 minutes discussing the future of Skinner. The 28-year-old forward has six years left after this season on his eight-year $72MM contract but has just 24 points in the 71 games since he signed it. He has just one point this season and has had his ice time reduced dramatically. It’s not clear at all how Buffalo gets out from under the Skinner contract, but Friedman doesn’t believe Buffalo should be trying to attach draft picks as a sweetener in a potential trade.

It was the next topic that really raised some eyebrows though, as the conversation turned to a potential trade of Eichel. Friedman simply stated “yes” when asked if a trade of the Sabres superstar was possible, before going on to explain his thoughts:

Look, we know that this was something that came up last summer. I don’t know that it was ever close. The feeling that I’ve always had is that Buffalo knew Eichel was unhappy. They asked Eichel to take a step last year and he really did, we’ve talked about how much of a step Eichel took last year. Still, when it came to team success it just didn’t really go anywhere. Now you look at where it is this year, you know he’s going to be frustrated, and there were conversations last year. But what I was told was, the Sabres just said ’we are not ready to do this. We are not ready.’ Teams made offers, it was communicated that he was restless. I don’t think he ever asked for a trade, I don’t think it got that far. But he was restless and teams knew it. The Sabres took some offers and said ’no we’re not ready to do this.’

It’s clear that there would be interest in Eichel, but a trade involving a $10MM-per-year contract would certainly not be simple. The 24-year-old center is signed through the 2025-26 season. Friedman notes that the New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings could both potentially put together packages for Eichel from the number of assets in the organization, though doesn’t imply they have made an offer at any point.

One important difference between Skinner and Eichel, other than the obvious performance levels, is that the former owns a full no-move clause. Eichel’s NMC doesn’t kick in until the 2022-23 season, the year he would have normally been eligible for unrestricted free agency (players before that age are not allowed to include any trade protection in their contracts). That means trading Skinner would have the additional hurdle of getting his blessing, while Eichel technically doesn’t have to be included in the process.

Still, the only way the Sabres would be moving on from their franchise center is if he wanted it, and though Friedman suggests there was unrest in the summer, Eichel has never publicly stated he is looking for a change. In fact, he has done quite the opposite, by acknowledging his frustration but reaffirming his commitment to the Sabres organization many times. That feeling can change in a heartbeat though, and by the end of this season, Eichel will have played more than 400 NHL games without ever sniffing the postseason. Buffalo hasn’t even had a winning season with him, going 160-194-55 in his five-plus-year career.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres

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It’s Thanksgiving this week in the United States and the holiday season is right around the corner. Like the last few years, PHR will take a look at what teams are thankful for but this year comes with a bit of a change. Normally teams would have an idea of where their season was heading, coming up on the one-quarter mark with mountains of statistics to analyze. Instead, in this unprecedented year, the season hasn’t even begun. We’ll still take a look at what each group is excited about and what they could hope for once the calendar turns to 2021.

What are the Sabres most thankful for?

A deep forward group.

No longer are the Sabres putting all their hopes on youngsters. The team is suddenly loaded with established players who have proven themselves. To go with Jack Eichel, the team has added a number of key additions to go with solid playmakers as the team now boasts Eichel, Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Sam Reinhart, Jeff Skinner, Victor Olofsson and a number of other players who can thrive in bottom-six roles like Kyle Okposo, Cody Eakins, Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt, etc. The depth at forward is a major improvement for a team that needs to score and this team should have that quality of depth that should be able to give Buffalo a chance to earn their first playoff appearance in nine years.

Who are the Sabres most thankful for?

Taylor Hall.

With the pandemic flattening out the salary cap for the foreseeable future, there weren’t too many long-term offers for Hall, the top free agent of the 2020 free agent class. Instead, Hall looked for a short-term deal from a team with extra cap room and surprised quite a few people when he picked the Sabres, due to the chance to play next to Eichel for the year.

The addition of Hall, totally enhances the team’s top-nine as he immediately will slot into the top line next to Eichel and will finally get a chance to play next to an elite center, something he hasn’t had in quite a number of years. The hope is that Hall can find his game from two years ago when he was the Hart Trophy winner with the New Jersey Devils, leading them single-handedly into the playoffs. If he can do that for the Sabres, Buffalo should have a legitimate chance to break their nine-year drought and Hall will establish himself again as the top free agent for 2021 in hopes of landing that big-term deal.

What would the Sabres be even more thankful for?

A return to form of Jeff Skinner.

After posting a 40-goal season in 2018-19 and signing a eight-year, $72MM deal, things never panned out after that for Skinner, who struggled mightily with just 14 goals and 23 points in 59 games last season. The forward was a disaster and found himself spending quite a bit of time on the third line trying to find his game. With seven years at $9MM AAV, the Sabres have to hope that Skinner will be able to bounce back and become that fixture on the second line that they were hoping for. The talent is there to surround the goal-scoring forward, but the team needs for him to execute, otherwise the team will be stuck with a player and a contract that they don’t want.

What should be on the Sabres’ Holiday Wish List?

The Sabres may be in need of help in goal. The Sabres have a solid offense and defense, but their goaltending could be what’s holding them back. The team can hope that Linus Ullmark is ready to take the starting load this season. He did produce impressive numbers with a .915 save percentage in 34 appearances, but is he the answer in net? Unfortunately, top goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, might not be ready for another couple of years, meaning the team may need to find a way to bring in a more proven goaltender that can handle big minutes.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Why Taylor Hall Will Be The Can’t-Miss UFA In 2021 That He Expected To Be In 2020

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Taylor Hall is certainly not complaining about making $8MM this season. Considering that the flat salary cap has depressed the market to the point that only four unrestricted free agents have signed deals with an AAV of $6MM or more this off-season – and Hall is the only forward to do so – the talented winger is likely content with his pact with the Buffalo Sabres. For now, that is. Heading into the 2019-20 season, even $8MM seemed like a low cap hit for Hall’s next deal and no one would have guessed that he would settle for a one-year deal. This was not the free agent frenzy and massive long-term deal expected for the Hart Trophy winner. However, one year could make all the difference.

Hall, 28, is one of the few players in the NHL who should not be content with an $8MM valuation. The 2010 first overall pick, Hall has scored at a rate of .9 points per game over his ten-year career, including four seasons at over a point per game and no seasons below .74 since his rookie year. A five-time 20-goal scorer, including 39 tallies (and 93 points) in his 2017-18 MVP season, Hall is a proven scorer in the NHL. A player who has also proven that he can excel on poor teams in which he is the undisputed best player, Hall has managed all of this production through rebuilds with the Edmonton Oilers and New Jersey Devils. The ceiling is limitless of what Hall could do on a talented contender.

Given the New Jersey Devils’ rebuild status entering the 2019-20 season, Hall had long been speculated to hit the open market once his contract expired. The Devils pursued a contract extension with their star forward, but to no avail. Perhaps Hall’s injury-plagued 33-game season in 2018-19 played a role in the Devils reluctance to ante up or maybe it was Hall who decided he had done enough for rebuilding squads. Regardless of the reason, Hall was traded in December. However, rather than joining a legitimate playoff team, Hall joined the fringe Arizona Coyotes and again took on the responsibility of being the team’s best player. The result of the whole season was 52 points in 65 games, a strong season for most but a disappointment for Hall as a steep drop-off in per-game production compared to his prior two seasons.

With an injury dominating his 2018-19 campaign and poor results (by his standards) to show for 2019-20, Hall’s MVP status had taken a hit two years removed from winning the Hart. It showed on the open market, as teams were not willing to hand out a long-term, big-money deal to a player that they would not have hesitated to hand a blank check not long ago. The flat cap also didn’t help, as teams have been risk-averse this off-season and not willing to sacrifice cap space by getting into bidding wars. Hall still had multiple offers, but by all accounts they were one-year or short-term offers at below market value.

How does the superstar winger rebound? It begins with the team he decided to sign with. Although it seemingly came out of nowhere, Hall’s decision to join the Buffalo Sabres could prove to be a stroke of genius. Joining Jack Eichel on the Sabres’ top line, Hall with finally play with an elite center for the first time in his career. Eichel’s per-game scoring numbers have improved in each of his five NHL seasons and he has been a point-per-game or better for two years in a row. With Hall at his side, that trend will only continue. Barring an injury, both players have 100-point upside this season.

There is one factor that could interrupt the dynamic scoring potential of Hall and Eichel and that is a trade. Even with the dangerous duo, the Sabres are still unlikely to challenge for a playoff spot and Hall may find himself back on the trade block at the 2021 deadline. However, another smart move made by Hall and his camp was to get a No-Movement Clause on his one-year deal. Unlike the moves to New Jersey and Arizona that Hall had no say in, if a trade is made this year, it will have to be with his approval. Aware of now the deadline move to the Coyotes failed to help his market value, Hall will be careful to choose a team where he can continue to score while finally making a deep run in the playoffs.

Once he is finally a free agent once more, and almost certainly coming off a strong season barring unforeseen circumstances, Hall will also benefit from a market with less competing talent. The 2021 free agent class does not have an Alex Pietrangelo to overshadow Hall. Alex Ovechkin is the biggest potential name, but he will almost certainly re-sign with the Washington Capitals and if not will not command a major deal at 35 years old. Other top forwards include Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Jaden Schwartz, Tomas Tatar, and veterans like Ryan Getzlaf, David Krejci, and soon-to-be Buffalo teammate Eric Staal. These are all fine players, but no one to rival Hall barring a breakout season. The defense and goalie markets are lacking any star players in their prime that could attract suitors away from spending on Hall.

Not only will he likely standout as the top free agent available, but Hall will also have more suitors who can afford his services. With more notice and time to plan for cap management, even a long-term, possibly double-digit AAV deal for Hall will be easier for teams to swallow. The need could be greater as well; the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft threatens to strip a number of teams of scorers and they may turn to Hall as the best possible replacement. Expansion also adds one more team to the mix, as the Seattle Kraken could not make a bigger splash in their first season than adding the free agent market’s biggest name.

And what about the possibility that Buffalo wants to keep Hall beyond this season? It may have been a different administration in charge, but the Sabres just recently showed a willingness to pay up for a player that they had invested in when they signed Jeff Skinner to an eight-year, $72MM contract after acquiring him via trade. While the Sabres may already have $19MM invested in Eichel Skinner per season for years to come, they were willing to include Hall to make that $27MM this season and might not shy away from $30MM+ per year for their top three forwards.

The future is bright for Hall one way or another. It may not have been the off-season result that he or anyone else expected at this time last year, but at this time next year Hall will very likely beginning the next stage of his career on a lucrative long-term deal. How he gets there will be one of the best stories to follow in the coming NHL season.

Eastern Notes: Skinner, Gallagher, Drouin, Palmieri, Boqvist

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The Buffalo Sabres got some good news as forward Jeff Skinner practiced with the team Sunday and is now considered day-to-day, according to the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington. Skinner suffered an upper-body injury in late December and was deemed to be out three to four weeks.

Skinner, however, had already been skating on his own before the all-star break and many had hoped he might be ready for Tuesday’s game against Ottawa. Head coach Ralph Krueger said that he hopes that Skinner will be available on Tuesday. Skinner has been a bit of a disappointment so far this year after signing an eight-year, $72MM contract in the offseason with just 11 goals and 19 points in 39 games, a far cry from his 40-goal season last year. If Skinner is ready to play Tuesday, Buffalo will have to activate him off of injured reserve.

  • Montreal Canadiens head coach Claude Julien said that while none of his injured trio are expected to play on Monday against the Washington Capitals, two of his players are close to returning, according to Sportsnet’s Eric Engels. Forward Brendan Gallagher, who has missed nine of the team’s past 10 games with a head injury, still needs to be cleared by doctors, but Julien said he feels good and should be back in a few days. Jonathan Drouin is also supposed to be ready to return within the week, but Julien said he had no idea when that would be. Drouin has missed 31 straight games after having surgery on his wrist. Paul Byron is out “longer term.”
  • The New Jersey Devils are expecting to get back a key player as well as forward Kyle Palmieri returned to practice Sunday and is expected to play Monday against Ottawa, according to NHL.com’s Amanda Stein. Palmieri missed four games before the break and missed the All-Star Game as well, with a foot injury. The 28-year-old has 16 goals and 31 points in 44 games for the Devils.
  • Stein also adds that New Jersey Devils rookie forward Jesper Boqvist, who was assigned to the Binghamton Devils in the AHL before the break so he could continue playing while the team was off, will remain there for the time being to get some extra playing time. The 21-year-old has just four goals and no assists in 34 NHL games and has one goal in three games with Binghamton.

Jeff Skinner To Miss Three-To-Four Weeks

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Friday night was a tough one for the Sabres.  They struggled in a 3-0 loss to Boston and in the process, they lost one of their top offensive threats as the team announced that winger Jeff Skinner will miss the next three-to-four weeks due to an upper-body injury.  The injury occurred early in the third period in a collision with Boston winger David Pastrnak.

Skinner is only a year removed from scoring 40 goals although that production hasn’t quite carried over to this season.  He currently sits fifth in team scoring with 11 goals and eight assists through 39 contests which isn’t the point total they were hoping for when they signed him to an eight-year, $72MM deal back in June.

Nonetheless, it’s another blow to Buffalo’s forward group which has multiple players out already and has seen several others struggle this season.  GM Jason Botterill is known to be shopping multiple defensemen for help up front and while this injury could help a deal like that along, they’ve also lost some leverage with other teams in the process.

After a strong start to the season, Buffalo has won just one of their last six games and have dropped out of a playoff spot in the process with all of the teams battling with them for the final guaranteed playoff spot in the Atlantic having games in hand on them.  Now they’ll be forced to try to get back in without one of their better offensive players for the next little while.

Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres

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Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. The Buffalo Sabres, now that they have inked Jeff Skinner to an eight-year, $72MM deal earlier this month, don’t have as much to worry about as the team has neither many important restricted or unrestricted free agents they need to worry about.

Key Restricted Free Agent: G Linus Ullmark – The Sabres may not have gotten the season they were hoping for from free agent goaltender Carter Hutton, but they also had high hopes for Ullmark to take the next step and establish himself as a solid backup to the veteran. However, whether that will be the case is another question. While Ullmark looked early on in the season like the answer as the team’s backup, his play started to slip as the year wore on and he struggled especially late in the season, eventually finishing with a 3.11 GAA and a .905 save percentage. However, with no other young goalie particularly close to being ready to challenge him, it’s likely the Sabres will give Ullmark another year to develop his body for the long-haul for the season.

F Zemgus Girgensons – While hardly an impact player, the Sabres have been using the 25-year-old as a bottom-line depth option for six years already as he provides the team with some size and grit that the team needs at the bottom of their line-up. While he hasn’t broken the 10-goal mark since the 2014-15 season (he scored five last year), he did finish with 144 hits last season, his highest numbers since his rookie season. The question is whether the team sees him as a long-term option as he is one year away from becoming a unrestricted free-agent.

F Evan Rodrigues – The team has like what it has seen from Rodrigues, who signed with Buffalo after four years at Boston University and has since worked his way through the AHL and finally saw a full season in Buffalo this year. While his numbers were quite pedestrian as he finished the year with nine goals and 29 points, he has seen increased playing time and the team hopes he can still provide some middle-six depth for the team, although he should receive a slight raise from the $650K that he made last season.

Other RFAs: F Remi Elie, F Johan Larsson, D Jake McCabe, F C.J. Smith

Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Jason Pominville – He has played 11 seasons for Buffalo over the course of his career and despite hitting 36 years of age, the team may consider bringing back the veteran as an inexpensive depth option. After all, he posted 16 goals last season, while playing a career-low 12:28 last season. While he certainly wasn’t worth the $5.6MM he was making last season, he would be worth a low-cost deal, who could provide the team’s youth with a veteran presence.

Other UFAs: F Eric Cornel, F Kyle Criscuolo, D Jack Dougherty, F Taylor Leier, F Sean Malone, D Brycen Martin, F Matt Moulson, F Daniel O’Regan; D Matt Tennyson, G Scott Wedgewood, G Adam Wilcox

Projected Cap Space: The Sabres currently sit a little more than $15MM under the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, and should have some cap room to try to find some offense to help out their struggling second line. With the recent addition of defenseman Colin Miller from Vegas, the team should be in good shape with their defense, but the team’s biggest problem was putting the puck in the net, which the team hopes that it can improve on with the right roster moves.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Free Agency Notes: Edler, Hayes, Pavelski, Krug

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When Alex Edler asked Vancouver not to move him at the NHL Trade Deadline, many assumed it was precursor to an extension between the long-time Canuck and his team. Yet, as the weeks have passed and no resolution has emerged, that expectation grew less and less certain. Now, after a month or so of reports that term and expansion protection were coming between the two sides, it seems the deal is dead and Edler will hit the open market. Sportsnet’s Rick Dhaliwal reports that it does not sound like the Canucks and Edler will get a deal done by July 1st. This does not entirely rule out a return to Vancouver, but it will be substantially harder to convince him to come back after he’s tested the waters and likely found teams willing to give him the desired term and No-Movement Clause. This especially rings true today, as Erik Karlsson’s extension leaves a thin defense market even weaker and D-needy teams will have little choice but to meet the demands of Edler and fellow top free agents like Jake Gardiner and Tyler Myers. It would not be surprise to now see Vancouver make a hard push for one of those two as well, as they seek an upgrade on the blue line but were not willing to give the 33-year-old Edler a long-term deal or risk losing young players to protect an aging veteran in the 2021 NHL Expansion Draft.

  • It’s been a roller coaster of reports on Kevin Hayes since the moment his negotiating rights were acquired by the Philadelphia Flyers from the Winnipeg Jets. The Flyers obviously became the favorite to sign the free agent center given their early access, but there have since been reports followed by other conflicting reports about how talks have been going between the two sides. Finally, trusted Flyers source Frank Seravalli of TSN has chimed in and he has only good news for Philly fans. Seravalli reports that the two sides have made good progress and that talks are trending toward a contract. He stops short of guaranteeing a deal gets done, but believes that it will. This would remove yet another major name from the free agent market, following Karlsson, Jeff Skinner, and Jordan Eberle. And like those three, reports of a deal being close have so far been proven true this off-season.
  • The sheer magnitude of Karlsson’s new contract with the Sharks has surprised many and has reinforced the narrative that San Jose will have to lose other key free agents to re-sign the talented defenseman. While he wouldn’t speak specifically about talks with those players, GM Doug Wilson did warn not to make assumptions when asked about Joe Pavelski, per The Athletic’s Kevin Kurz. Wilson says that nothing has been ruled out, making a Pavelski return a possibility. He also spoke to the importance of getting Karlsson under contract “well before July 1st”, specifically so that the team can plan around their new salary cap paradigm. It still remains a long-shot barring trades to remove salary from the current roster, but until Pavelski, a career Shark, puts pen to paper elsewhere, he remains a possibility for San Jose.
  • Boston defenseman Torey Krug will not be a free agent until next summer, but he has already proven that he is worth a significant raise in his next contract. The Bruins’ power play magician is fifth among all NHL defensemen in regular season scoring over the past three years and second only to Erik Karlsson in playoff scoring. Karlsson’s new extension, along with the contracts of players like John Carlson and Victor Hedman, raise the bar for what Krug might be looking for in his next deal. Even though he has some struggles defensively, it is fair to assume that his current $5.25MM cap hit will not cut it. This leaves the Bruins in a difficult spot, as they must first re-sign elite young defensemen Charlie McAvoy and Brandon Carlo this summer. Those moves will leave Boston with little cap space this off-season and not much more the following year when Krug needs a new contract. Yet, speaking with the media today, GM Don Sweeney made it clear that his intent is not to trade the mobile defender, nor to let him leave after next season:

If somebody blew us away (with a trade offer for Krug), every player has to be looked at in that way. When you’re an organization, you just have to, you’re doing a disservice if you don’t. But it would take a pretty unique opportunity for us to part with Torey. We think he’s a big part of the fabric of our group. He’s kind of that next wave of leadership that we talk about.

Erik Karlsson Re-Signs With San Jose Sharks

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UPDATE: The Sharks have now officially announced the Karlsson extension and it is worth even more than previously believed. Karlsson is set to make $11.5MM on average over an eight-year term for a total of $92MM, according to CapFriendly. That includes $53MM in signing bonuses, largely front loaded in the early years for potential lockout protection, as well as in the final two years to dissuade a buyout. The contract also includes a full No-Movement Clause. There is little doubt remaining that San Jose is all in on Karlsson given these terms, which make Karlsson the highest paid defenseman in NHL history and behind only Connor McDavid and Auston Matthews overall. The Sharks simply have to hope that he can get back to full health and remain that way as long as possible, while those teams that missed out on a chance to court him this summer have to hope that the somewhat underwhelming replacement options don’t drastically increase their asking price.

 

It’s been an ongoing narrative early this off-season that the San Jose Sharks were willing to do whatever it takes to re-sign Erik Karlsson, after the all-world defenseman played well – when healthy – in his first season with the team. Karlsson is considered not just the top defenseman on the free agent market, but arguably the biggest name overall, and that’s taking into account his injury concerns. Few defensemen in the NHL can do what a healthy Karlsson can offensively and the 29-year-old was set to cash in on the open market. Yet, it seems that GM Doug Wilson and the Sharks have convinced Karlsson that he doesn’t need to test the waters to find a considerable contract and a winning team. TSN insider Bob McKenzie reports that “all signs are pointing” to Karlsson returning to San Jose and colleague Pierre LeBrun follows it up by stating that “a deal is indeed done.”

McKenzie is hardly the first to report that extension talks were getting close between the two sides, but when the respected hockey mind makes a pronouncement like this, it generally carries significant weight. LeBrun thus checked in himself and found previous reports that the two sides were talking about a contract in the neighborhood of Drew Doughty’s eight-year, $88MM contract to be true. LeBrun believes that is will be an eight-year deal worth more than Doughty’s $11MM AAV. This would make Karlsson’s cap hit the third-largest in NHL history.

Unless his negotiating rights were to be traded prior to July 1st, the Sharks were always going to be the only team that could offer Karlsson that valuable eight year. However, it is likely their willingness to move into the double-digit AAV realm that pushed negotiations closer to a resolution. Especially in a season in which Karlsson missed 29 games due to injury, there was plenty of speculation that his value would take a hit on the free agent market, resulting in lesser term or at least a lower dollar value over a long-term deal. Instead, the Sharks seemingly plan to keep Karlsson in town by offering him the same contract he likely would have landed prior to this past season and hope that recent groin surgery solves the nagging soft tissue damage that cost the superstar blue liner so much time this season.

Assuming this extension becomes official shortly, it will have wide-ranging effects. San Jose cannot afford to re-sign Karlsson to this contract and also re-up restricted free agents Timo Meier and Kevin Labanc without making some sacrifices. Priority unrestricted free agents like Joe Pavelski, Joe Thornton, Gustav Nyquist, and Joonas Donskoi cannot all return if any can. Signing even one of those players may force the Sharks to move out other salary from the roster. Additionally, per the terms of the original Karlsson trade, San Jose will also surrender a 2021 second-round pick to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for extending their acquisition. As for the rest of the free agent market, one of the top names is now off the board. The demand and thus the price for the next tier of defensemen – Jake Gardiner and Tyler Myers – just went up, as did the cost of bringing in a big name like Artemi Panarin or Matt Duchene after both Karlsson and Jeff Skinner received larger contracts than expected.

The greater story here though is that the Sharks’ Stanley Cup window, which some saw as closing if Karlsson, Pavelski, and Thornton were all to leave, has now been extended with the re-signing of one of the game’s best defensemen, so long as he can stay healthy. With Karlsson, Brent Burns, and Marc-Edouard Vlasic together on the blue line for at least six more years and core forwards like Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl, and soon Meier locked up, the team has strength at both ends and will continue to be a top competitor year in and year out.

 

Sabres Notes: Skinner, Pominville, Trade Options

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The Buffalo Sabres accomplished their biggest offseason task on Friday evening when it signed winger Jeff Skinner to a eight-year, $72MM extension. Regardless, despite being able to convince a top player to sign a long-term deal in Buffalo, there are a number of significant ramifications that go with the Sabres’ locking up the 27-year-old.

Skinner and Jack Eichel will now combine for 22.5 percent of the team’s salary cap, which is the sixth-highest number for teams’ top two players. While the Sabres have cap room to work with, the team may find themselves in trouble down the road, according to the Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski. In fact, Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill may have trouble in a few years when he tries to sign some of the team’s other young pieces, including Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Dahlin, Brandon Montour and Casey Mittelstadt, which could give the team some issues with improving in the near future. All that for a team that didn’t come close to making the playoffs this past season.

  • The Athletic’s Jon Vogl (subscription required) writes that the Sabres had no choice but to sign Skinner to long-term deal. While the scribe admits that the money is significant, the team couldn’t have handled losing their first-line winger, considering the significant amount of cap space the franchise has both this year and next and the near-impossible task of replacing him. Not signing him would have been worse than overpaying him. Regardless, this should give Botterill an extended chance to prove that he is a competent GM as he will have to assemble the rest of the team’s roster for the next few years, even if Skinner doesn’t pan out over the long haul.
  • In a separate note, Lysowski also reports that the team is in discussions with  forward Jason Pominville and are hoping to bring the veteran back on a cheaper deal. While no longer a top-six option, the 36-year-old Pominville has worked effectively as a bottom-six forward who can produce some offense, as he potted 16 goals last season. The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington adds that Buffalo should offer him a one-year deal between $2-2.5MM and have him play a big role on the team’s fourth line as well as the penalty kill unit.
  • Pierre LeBrun, in a notebook piece for The Athletic (subscription required), reports that Buffalo isn’t done making moves to improve its team this season. The Sabres are looking to add a second-line center and/or a top-six winger to its roster to improve its scoring for next season. LeBrun adds that one name that Buffalo has inquired on is Minnesota Wild winger Jason Zucker and he also wonders whether the team would consider taking on the contract of Kyle Turris in Nashville to fill their center void.

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