Report: Sabres to Buyout Final Three Seasons of Jeff Skinner’s $72-Million Contract
Jeff Skinner’s tenure with the Buffalo Sabres appears to be nearing an end.
The 32-year-old forward is expected to be bought out by Buffalo this summer, according to Chad DeDominicis of Expected Buffalo. Last week, Sportsnet’s Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman reported the club was considering a potential buyout of his remaining contract.
Skinner, signed to an eight-year, $72-million contract in 2019, has three years and $22 million left owing on his deal. It currently carries a $9 million cap hit through 2026-27.
If bought out, the Sabres would be charged over the next six seasons, as PuckPedia reports. It would include a cap hit of $1.44 million in Year 1, $4.44 million in Year 2, $6.44 million in Year 3 and $2.44 million from Years 4 to 6.
The move would save Buffalo roughly $7.5 million in cap space this summer, providing the front office with just over $31 million in future spending for next season. As such, it’d end Skinner’s six seasons with the organization.
Following eight seasons with the Carolina Hurricanes, Skinner arrived in Buffalo via a 2018 blockbuster trade, which sent three draft picks – a second, third and sixth-rounder – as well as Cliff Pu the other way. And it appeared to be a steal, initially.
The Toronto, ON native enjoyed a career year during his inaugural campaign in 2018-19, scoring a career-high 40 goals along with 63 points across 82 games. He posted a 14.9 percent shooting percentage, the highest mark of his career, which ultimately proved unsustainable – as did his availability.
Skinner’s production regressed dramatically in Year 2, resulting in only 14 goals and 23 points while running a significantly diminished 7.7 percent shooting percentage. Things only got worse the following season, as he finished with seven goals and 14 points.
On top of his offensive inconsistencies, the veteran left-winger missed considerable time during his second season with the Sabres, playing just 59 games before the COVID-19 shutdown commenced. This past season, he was limited to 73 games due to an upper-body injury, posting 24 goals and 46 points.
In his six seasons with Buffalo, Skinner potted 153 goals and 291 points across 427 career games, including an All-Star appearance in 2019. He tallied a career-high 82 points in 79 games during the 2022-23 season, averaging a point per game for the first time in his career.
The seventh-overall selection in 2010 has logged 1,006 career NHL games between the Hurricanes and Sabres. But one milestone he’s yet to accomplish is reaching the playoffs, which will surely play a significant role in his future when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
While the time has likely come to move on from Buffalo, Skinner should have plenty of interested suitors knocking at his door once he hits the open market, as several teams could benefit from adding him to their middle-six forward group.
As for the Sabres, they’ll look to put those cap savings to use to help boost a young roster that fell short of the post-season again last season, extending the franchise’s playoff drought to 13 straight.
-Thomas Hall
Twitter: @Hall_Thomas_
Photo: Jenn G. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.