The Jeff Skinner saga

Anyone in the Buffalo media following the Sabres has had a front row seat to the Ralph Krueger/Jeff Skinner saga which began last season. Skinner was coming into the 2019-20 season fresh off a career high 40-goal campaign armed with a recently-inked 8yr./$72 million contract after skating on the top line with captain Jack Eichel and his trusty sidekick Sam Reinhart. In a training camp move Krueger, Buffalo's new head coach, decided to shift Skinner down to the second line for more scoring depth.

The premise for Krueger's decision, it would seem, was based upon the 2018-19 season where the Sabres were clearly a one-line team under his predecessor. The players on the Eichel line had accounted for 90 combined goals while the other 20-plus players lit the lamp for 131 goals. Buffalo ran a hot streak early in the season that lasted from October 20 to November 27 where they went 14-2-2 scoring 64 goals in the process. Skinner amassed 19 of his 40 goals during that stretch with Eichel (21) and Reinhart (11) combining for 32 assists. Beating the Sabres meant containing the top line and shutting down secondary scoring. As Buffalo's fall from the top of the league to a non-playoff team might indicate, opponents took that to heart.

As the new bench-boss, Krueger said he thought it was best that to spread the scoring out a little and proceeded to moved rookie Victor Olofsson to the top line. That dropped Skinner to the second line where he skated with winger-turned-center Marcus Johansson and former St. Louis Blues' checking line winger Vladimir Sobotka at right wing. The team got off to a hot start going 9-2-2 in the month of October with Skinner scoring seven goals in his new second-line role while Eichel and Reinhart would combine for 12 goals and 16 assists in those first 13 games. Olofsson contributed six goals, all on the powerplay.

The synergy was there...until it wasn't.

Not built for a rugged MassMutual East division

From the get-go we knew here that this was going to be a very difficult season for the Buffalo Sabres as they were moved into a newly formed MassMutual East division in a realignment designed by the league to limit exposure in the world of Covid-19. The Sabres and their Atlantic division foe, the Boston Bruins, were thrown into a group of Metropolitan division heavyweights featuring the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins, Philadelphia Flyers and NY Islanders. The NY Rangers and New Jersey Devils, both up-and-coming teams with young talent topped by first-overall draft picks, round out the division.

The Sabres have always had trouble with heavyweights, like the Bruins who combine skill, speed, toughness and a relentless pursuit of the puck. They've also struggled against the Capitals, a big, tough team with plenty of top-end skill and a ruggedness up and down the lineup. The Islanders are now presenting everyone with problems. Ever since Barry Trotz, who had coached the Capitals to the 2018 Stanley Cup Championship, took over the reigns on Long Island, his team has featured relentless forechecking and a lock-down defensive system that's harder to penetrate than Fort Knox when they have the lead. And they have some high-end skill that can get them out front as well. 

Philadelphia plays an irritating brand of hockey predicated on sandpaper running through a team that has plenty of speed and skill. The Penguins aren't really a rugged team, but when you have a triumvirate of Hall-of-Famers who led the team to three Stanley Cups in nine years with veritable nobodies riding shotgun, as long as those three are on the ice, they're always a threat to win.

And in come the Buffalo Sabres, a team that hasn't had an identity since 2007 when they were the toast of the league after two consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances. Since an ignominious '07 off season that will live in infamy, they've been wandering in the wilderness trying to figure out who they are and/or what they want to be. In the last 10 years alone since Terry Pegula bought the team, they went from a general manager seemingly hell-bent on a rugged, west-coast style, to his successor who shunned that and began to build more of a skilled team. Both combined for five years of futility and burned through three coaches with their teams never finishing with more than 81 points in any one season. Oh, and one more thing, this non-descript Sabres team was left to carry a nine-year playoff drought into the toughest division in hockey this season.

Buffalo is not bereft of talent. Captain Jack Eichel had a 2018-19 season that saw him on the threshold of joining some of the best players in the league. Winger Jeff Skinner was fifth in the league in even-strength goals from his 2010-11 rookie season to 2018-19 and had a 40-goal season that year. Right-winger Sam Reinhart was dubbed "The Quiet One" by this writer as he quietly racked up 205 points (87+118) between his rookie campaign and 2018-19, good for second on the team behind Eichel. And this past off-season, new GM Kevyn Adams used the relationship between head coach Ralph Krueger and free agent winger Taylor Hall to lure the 2018 league MVP to Buffalo with a one-year deal.

Despite questions in goal and the reliance upon an unchanged blueline that made many a hardened heart skip a beat last season, most expected this team to play a style that was conducive to scoring. But it hasn't been happening. Other than an impressive 6-1 victory over the Flyers in Game-3 (possibly giving them hubristic, false sense of security,) this group of players has struggled mightily and it doesn't look as if will get any better in a division that has no Ottawa Senators or Detroit Red Wings to beat up on.

Then again, as we delve s bit deeper into the past two seasons, it's really not surprising as collectively the top four Sabres' 2021 offensive roster players haven't done very well versus a combination of Boston, Washington, the NY Islanders, and Philadelphia, four of the toughest teams to play against in the entire NHL.

From 2018-19 through the Covid-shortenened 2019-20 season, the foursome of Eichel, Skinner, Reinhart and Hall (who played for New Jersey and the Arizona Coyotes those two seasons) combined for 189 goals and 450 points in 536 games worth an average of .35 goals/game and .84 points/game. Against their new division foes they've put up similar averages over that time frame with 48 goals and 102 points in 128 games (.38 goals and .80 points per game, respectively.)

However, those numbers took a little dip in 77 games against those four heavyweights of the newly formed East division as they've combined for 19 goals and 52 points or .25 goals/gm and .68 pts/gm, respectively. Also of note, over those two seasons, the Buffalo's top four offensive players have a combined for a minus-73 rating in 536 total games overall but a minus-38 rating in 77 games versus the Bruins, Capitals, Islanders and Flyers (Eichel's minus-5 leads that group.)

Eichel, Reinhart, Skinner and Hall have fared better against Pittsburgh and the Rangers as they were on par with their overall averages. In 38 games against those two teams they have combined for 14 goals (.37/gm) and 28 points (.76/gm) and are a collective plus-1 (Reinhart plus-6.) And they do have one team that they like to play against, New Jersey. Eichel, Reinhart and Skinner (because Hall played for New Jersey most of the time) combined to play in 13 games against the Devils scoring seven goals and 14 points (.54 goals/game and 1.08 points/game.)

On an individual basis, against Boston, Washington, Philadelphia and the NY Islanders, Eichel was able to hold his own with 20 points (9+11) in 20 games, a point/game production just below his 1.10 points/game over that period, but the other three have faltered or failed miserably. 

Hall's two goals in 14 games and Skinner's four goals in 21 games come out to only .14 and .19 goals/game respectively, exactly half of their overall average those two seasons. Reinhart posted .18 goals/game versus .29 and .59 points/game versus .76 overall. And while Eichel remained consistent against all four of those heavyweights, others faltered or failed against some teams in that group.  Skinner had zero points in 21 games against the Bruins, Caps, Flyers and Isles. Reinhart had zero points in five games versus the Isles and only one goal in 12 games against Boston and Philadelphia while Hall was shut out against the Bruins (three games,) had zero goals in three games vs Washington, and two goals in eight games vs. the Islanders and Flyers.

As we look to this year's edition of the Sabres, they sit at 4-6-2 having just lost two in a row against the NY Islanders by a combined 6-1 score, which includes an entire third period in the first game where they went without a shot on goal. That lone goal in the two-game series was scored by Victor Olofsson with Reinhart getting the secondary assist. Here's how it's gone for the team against the rest of the MassMutural East division so far and how Eichel, Reinhart, Skinner and Hall have fared:

Washington 1-2-1

Eichel: 0 goals, 4 assists (1 shootout winner)

Reinhart: 0 goals, 2 assists

Skinner: 0 goals, 1 assist

Hall: 1 goal, 2 assists

Philadelphia 1-1-0

Eichel:  0 goals, 3 assists

Reinhart:  2 goals, 0 assists

Skinner:  0 goals, 0 assists

Hall:  0 goals, 3 assists

NY Rangers 1-0-1

Eichel:  2 goals, 0 assists

Reinhart:  1 goal, 1 assists

Skinner:  0 goals, 0 assists

Hall:  0 goals, 1 assist

NJ Devils 1-1-0

Eichel:  0 goals, 2 assists (1 shootout winner)

Reinhart: 0 goals, 0 assists

Skinner:  0 goals, 0 assists

Hall:  0 goals, 2 assists

Eichel ($10M,) Skinner ($9M,) Hall ($8M) and Reinhart ($5.2M) combine for $32 million in salary for the Sabres while 'leading' the team to a 4-6-2 record. In 12 games they've combined for six goals and 28 points.

And Buffalo has yet to play the division-leading, 10-2-2, Boston Bruins who have given up the third-fewest goals in the league.

Buffalo Sabres 2020-21 individual stats leaders--January

Record

--January:  4-4-2

The Buffalo Sabres started out the season with six new forwards in the mix:  Taylor Hall, Eric Staal, Riley Sheahan and what turned out to be a completely new 3rd line to start the season, Cody Eakin, Tobias Rieder and 19 yr. old rookie forward Dylan Cozens. Hall and Rieder have made their presence known through 10 games with Rieder being a pleasant surprise as he's showing speed and scoring as well as a strong 200' game while carrying the bottom-six and helping the penalty kill on the second unit. Although Staal has contributed offensively and looks to be having a positive effect on Cozens, the 37 yr. old has looked his age as he tries to get that heavy Chevy rolling while gaffes in his own zone have been detrimental and still more turnovers have made things extremely difficult on the team. 

As for Cozens, he came straight from the 2021 World Junior Championships and hit the ice flying. Although he's made some rookie mistakes and is still getting a feel for the NHL, the game itself doesn't seem to be too fast for him and he's really impressed thus-far earning second-line minutes next to Staal. 

Buffalo has really struggled with 5v5 scoring and find themselves near the middle of the pack so far. Considering six of their first 10 games have been one-goal affairs, with two others being losses by two goals via empty-netters against, every goal counts and 5v5 scoring needs to improve or they'll end up on a road that's all too familiar. The Sabres rode two hot streaks early in each of the last two seasons with a similar formula only to fall apart when it mattered.

Right now every game matters as there are only 56 games in the season meaning every point counts. At 4-4-2, Buffalo is right in the middle of the eight-team MassMutual East division despite efforts that have been mostly sketchy save for a couple of good games and one impressive one where they beat the Philadelphia Flyers 6-1. Special teams have been carrying the Sabres as they have the eighth-best powerplay and 10th-best penalty kill, but when it comes to 5v5 they mostly look disjointed.

Head coach Ralph Krueger has some soul-searching to do when putting his lines together as he's caught between a hard-headed belief in players following his system and fashioning his team to his players strengths. Such is the case with winger, Jeff Skinner.

Skinner was a 40-goal scorer before the arrival of Krueger last year and he was noted as much for his 5v5 scoring (191 goals, 5th-most in the league from 2010-11 to 2018-19) as he was for his less-than-stellar defensive game (minus-96, 4th-worst in that same time period.) Since the new coach arrived, Skinner has been Krueger's doghouse under the ruse of wanting balanced scoring amongst as many lines as possible. It hasn't worked out as Skinner scored only 14 goals in 59 games last season (all of them at even strength placing 3rd on the team) and has yet to twinkle the twine this season while playing bottom-six minutes almost exclusively.

These two rams are butting heads and it's not doing anybody any good. However, common sense demands attention to Skinner's 29 goals/82 games career scoring average, his contract which has seven more years at $9 million/season and the fact that he has a no-movement clause. Krueger has resisted giving in thus far but he really needs to do something fast as Skinner looks close to taking the money and running with 46 games to play. I highly doubt the word 'kapitulieren' is in Krueger's motivational book, Teamlife--Beyond Setbacks to Success, but for as worldly as Krueger is, and he's a magnificently well-rounded and intelligent individual, this is the National Hockey League where the salary cap is extremely important, talented players are well-paid and managing egos is the betriebsart in North American professional sports.

In addition, the Sabres are in a division that's widely regarded as the toughest division in the NHL and they have the league's longest playoff drought at nine years, just one shy of the league record. Krueger may need to entertain the thought of Stolz schlucken to give his team the best chance to make it to the playoffs. If he's gonna do it, he needs to do it fast. Though his Sabres are struggling, the race for the fourth spot in the East could be a dog-fight and he'll need to get everything he can out of every player he's got if he wants them to remain in it.

Another thought Krueger might want to entertain involves Skinner taking the top left wing spot next to Eichel (where he had his career-high 40-goal season) and dropping Hall to the second line. In addition to hopefully maximizing what's left of Skinner flailing confidence, the Staal line needs more skill, speed and experience. Victor Olofsson is trying to hold his own 5v5, and he's made great progress in his sophomore campaign, but he's not there yet. Having him move to the right side to help create a third scoring line a isn't bad idea as he can still kill it on the powerplay while providing a top-nine scoring threat. Also in play with that move is the separation of Hall and Eichel. Sure, it looks deadly on paper especially with Reinhart on the right side, but those two love the puck on their stick and we haven't seen a consistently strong, complimentary relationship yet with only one 5v5 goal between them (Eichel.)

Perhaps this might work:

Skinner - Eichel - Reinhart

Hall - Staal - Cozens

Rieder - Lazar - Olofsson

Sheahan - Eakin - Okposo

And we should also keep an eye on Okposo and Casey Mittelstadt with the former looking way past his prime and the latter looking like he's on the upswing. 

Buffalo Sabres 2020-21 Individual Stats Leaders

Points

--January:  Eichel 11;  Olofsson 10;  Hall 9

Goals

--January:  Olofsson 4;  Lazar, Staal, Rieder, Reinhart 3

EV Goals

--January: Lazar, Rieder 3; Staal 2; eight with 1

Powerplay Goals

--January:  Olofsson 3,  Reinhart 2;  seven with 1

Assists

--January:  Eichel 9;  Hall 8;  Olofsson 6

Powerplay Assists

--January:  Eichel 6;  Olofsson 5;  Hall 4

Primary Assists

--January:  Hall 6;  Olofsson 5;  Ristolainen 3

Plus/Minus

--January:  McCabe, Ristolainen +2;  Lazar, Sheahan, Cozens +1; Asplund, Skinner 0

Plus/Minus (Bottom)

--January:  Dahlin -9;  Miller, Reinhart -7;  Eichel, Olofsson, Hall, Montour -6

Goalies

Linus Ullmark

--January: 3-1-2;  2.56 GAA;  .914 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Carter Hutton

--January:  1-3-0;  3.05 GAA;  .895 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Jonas Johansson

--January:  0-0-0;  3.15 GAA;  .889 Sv%;  0 shutouts

Primary Assists

Olofsson----5

Cozens------1

Eichel-------2

Hall----------6

Sheahan-----1

Staal---------2

Skinner------1

Ristolainen--3

Reinhart---- 2

Eakin--------1

Dahlin-------1

Three-game Sabres recap, Feb. 23-29

The sucking sound you hear is the wind going out of the Buffalo Sabres sails. Prior to Monday's trade deadline the Sabres posted two convincing wins and went into the break with a solid 7-3-1 record in the month of February which was enough to convince general manager Jason Botterill to reconfigure the roster a bit instead of moving pending UFA's for low-value futures. Anyone and everyone knew that the playoffs were a longshot for Buffalo but to his credit, Botterill rewarded his team for toughing out a difficult season full of inconsistencies by showing some faith in them.

Botterill's two acquisitions at the deadline--forwards Dominik Kahun and Wayne Simmonds--replaced two forwards moved out and were as advertised. Simmonds has had two starts for Buffalo while Kahun made his Sabres debut against the Vegas Golden Knights. Kahun made a quick impression as he scored on his second shift to give the Sabres the lead against Vegas. As for Simmonds, everyone and their brother knows that he's in the latter stages of a strong career and that his production is waning, but he does provide veteran leadership and an on-ice toughness that's sorely been lacking this season.

Domink Kahun could be a boon to the Sabres' middle-six

Buffalo Sabres general manager Jason Botterill gave his inconsistent, middling team a shot in the arm when he traded for a skill-forward in Dominik Kahun. The 24 yr. old Kahun is on his third team after being signed by the Chicago Blackhawks, who then traded him to the Pittsburgh Penguins last June. Kahun was then traded tot he Sabres at the 2020 trade deadline this past Monday.

Although Kahun played center in Germany he has been on the wing in the NHL and it raises the question of can he play center in the best hockey league in the world? Sabres bench boss Ralph Krueger hasn't ruled it out, but for now Kahun will be riding shotgun somewhere in the middle-six of the lineup.

Three-game Sabres recap, Feb. 16-22

When we look at those three games below Sabres fans can't help but think, damn you Ottawa! Or should we really say, damn you Buffalo!

The Sabres rode a three-game winning streak into Ottawa and hit Canada's Capital after smoking Toronto 5-2. This would be great, right? Except for one thing. Buffalo was already 1-2 against the Senators and when they left Ottawa they finished the season 1-3 against a division foe who will end up near the bottom of the conference.

DOH!!!

Buffalo's win last night coupled with the Leafs  embarrassing 6-3 loss at home against the Carolina Hurricanes has the Sabres eight points back with two games in hand. They'll make up one of those games this afternoon as Buffalo hosts the Winnipeg Jets in their final game before tomorrow's trade deadline.

A crowded Eastern Conference pack, Sabres at Philly and a bit on Jeff Skinner

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-19-2019

Seeing the Buffalo Sabres second in the Atlantic Division at this stage of the season is a good sight, especially with the rough patch they went through in November and considering they still have some glaring holes in the lineup. At 16-12-7 their 39 points is places them just barely in front of a group of teams at least 10 points behind the division leading Boston Bruins. The Montreal Canadians and Toronto Maple Leafs are one point behind Buffalo while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers are two points behind.

However, as we look at points-percentage in terms of the standings, the Sabres .557 points/game is behind Tampa (.578,) Florida (.561) and Montreal (.559) and in front of Toronto's .543. 

As of now this is the pack that will more than likely be battling for spots two and three in the division behind the Bruins. Tampa is the most complete team and despite their choppy start it's not too far of a reach to see them in one of those two spots while Toronto certainly has enough firepower up front to go along with solid goaltending to overcome any shortcomings on defense. The Lightning and Leafs were both considered favorites to be in the Atlantic's top-three prior to the season and they're both beginning to look the part right now. 

Building the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster--LW, Jeff Skinner

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 8-24-2019


In this series we build the 2019-20 Buffalo Sabres roster one by one leading up to the season opener on October 3.

LW--Jeff Skinner
27 yrs. old
5'11" 187 lbs.
2010, seventh-overall (CAR)

Career stats: 661 games | 244 goals | 198 assists | 442 points | -96


"The book on Jeff Skinner is that he likes the puck on his stick, has the speed, wicked maneuverability and stickwork to get into prime scoring areas and, obviously, has the skill-level to finish."

That's what we wrote last year prior to the Markham, Ontario native's first season with the Buffalo Sabres. And that's what we got.

Sabres fans had an opportunity to see Skinner first-hand on a regular basis in 2018-19 and what he was able to do in the first half of the season was eye-opening as we watched him cut tight circles while finding his way to open ice before depositing the puck. The thought of Buffalo actually landing a player of his caliber for what amounted to very little in a trade made Sabreland giggle. Skinner was everything he was touted to be and the chemistry between him and center Jack Eichel was unmistakable.

During Buffalo's 10-game-winning streak in November Eichel dished and Skinner finished to the tune of 10 goals for the new Sabre. He would finish with 28 goals through 41 games in the first half of last season which put him on a pace to become Buffalo's first 50-goal scorer since 1992-93.

It didn't happen.

On the Jeff Skinner situation

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 5-31-2019


The big thing on twitter is to mock insiders by saying "my Secret Sabres Insider" has this to say about _____________.

Which is cool. Rumors concerning Buffalo Sabres players and posts in twitterland surrounding them and their situations should be fun as no one really knows what's going on inside of the war room at the foot of Washington Street. If you can say anything about Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill it's that he runs a tight ship when it comes to leaks. Botterill's predecessor Tim Murray was having a ball with the media and no one could keep a secret within his staff which had people calling complicated deals with extreme accuracy many hours before the deal was done.

Not so with Botterill. You can go back to Sam Reinhart's bridge contract signed last in late September where rumors all summer had him pulling in a large figure comparable to Stanley Cup-winner Tom Wilson who signed a long-term deal with the Washington Capitals for over $5 million/season. In fact some were calling for a higher dollar figure using Reinhart's 2017-18 numbers, his higher skill-level and bigger upside. However, as was proved with the 2yr./$7.3 million deal Reinhart and the Sabres reached two months later, nobody really had any "inside" information on the situation.

When talking Sabres unrestricted free agent Jeff Skinner, rumors are flying and a $9 million/season number keeps coming up either at the high end or as the final number. Western New York hockey talk surrounding Skinner centers around whether the Sabres should entertain re-signing a scoring winger to that high of a cap hit.

Skinner's market value is up thanks to his 40-goal season and right winger Mark Stone re-signing with the Vegas Golden Knights to an 8yr./$76 million deal with a $9.5 million cap-hit. Although everyone will agree that Stone adds more to a team on a 200' basis than Skinner, they are contemporaries and both are 27 yrs. old. Skinner had three 30-goal seasons before Buffalo traded for him last off season while Stone had just his first 30-goal season last year. Amongst the points being debated are the values of a one-dimensional goal-scorer vs. and all-around player and the mitigating factors between Vegas and Buffalo which are varied and important as well.  The recent successes of each hockey team and the makeup of the organization, the type of city they play in along with the hockey market and the bottom line after taxes are taken out all factor into a players decision and there's no doubt that Las Vegas offers up much more tantalizing package for players than Buffalo but with that said, that, or any other high-profile city might not be the place for every player.

Buffalo, for Skinner, seems to be the place he wants to play for his own personal reasons and the fact that he and his agent are working on the last big contract of his NHL career should be looked at as a big reason for the lengthy negotiations. As for Buffalo, they need to keep good players and build around the small nucleus they have and they shouldn't be haggling over relatively small change. Back in February while the Sabres were in the midst of their struggles it was suggested here that all things considered, we might be looking at somewhere between $8.75 and $9.25 million/season. Arguments raged that Skinner was barely worth $7 million/season for various reasons and that $8 million would be pushing it with some willing to bail on the player for anything more than $8 million/season.

Hogwash.

The goal for Buffalo should be to retain and add talent and it really needs to start with Skinner. The last time the franchise had this big of a decision to make was back in 2007 when they completely blew it with the Chris Drury/Daniel Briere fiasco. No need to revisit that and there's no reason to be squeamish because of past free agent failures.

Although some are likening an $8-9 million cap-hit for Skinner to contracts signed by Ville Leino, Matt Moulson and Kyle Okposo, the styles, numbers and drivers aren't even close. Those squeamish ones are more than willing to pass on Skinner and overpay for another player with less of a proven record (who may not even be a potential Sabres target) or worse, piece together Skinner's 40 goals by suggesting two players scoring 20 goals apiece could add up to 40 and that those players would cost way less. The most frequent name mentioned in a scenario like that is rookie Victor Olofsson who's played in only a dozen games NHL thus far. It's as if there's a tree out back where you can go pick a 20-goal scorer. Where is the tree? Is it next to the top-six center tree? In the same area as the top-pairing d-man or No. 1 goalie tree?

Forget that. The Sabres have a 40-goal scorer in hand and he's worth more than two fictitious ones in the bush. In fact, not only is it the belief here that they should re-sign Skinner, Buffalo should also look at adding more top-six talent. With many teams in a cap-crisis, there will be cap-casualties and they'll come at a discount.

We're hearing a lot of things coming out of Buffalo and with the scouting combine there, it makes for plenty of face to face time with Skinner's agents. For all we know the dollar figure might be set with term, bonuses, overall structure and/or movement clauses yet to be hashed out, but there seems to be a lot of smoke coming out of Buffalo as the NHL Combine has brought the two sides together for plenty of face-to-face meetings.

Prime time to get it done.

Impressions of, and questions concerning--LW, Jeff Skinner

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-15-2019

Left wing, Jeff Skinner

DOB:  May 16, 1992 (age, 26)

Draft:  2010, 7th-overall (CAR)

How acquired:  Trade with Carolina, August 2, 2018

Last contract signed:  August 8, 2012 6yr./$34.350 million

Final year of contract:  2018-19

2018-19 Stats:  82 games | 40 goals | 23 assists | 63 points | even | 18:31 ATOI

Career Stats:  661 games | 241 goals |  198 assists | 442 points |  -95 | 17:17 ATOI

What we wrote preseason:  After taking the NHL, and Carolina, by storm as an 18 year old scoring 31 goals and 63 points while on his way to 2011 Rookie of the Year honors, Skinner continued make his mark as a goal-scorer posting a total 204 goals in 579 games over his eight seasons playing for the 'Canes. However, despite his individual successes Carolina hasn't made the playoff in nine seasons and their new owner with a new front office decided change was needed. That included Skinner, a fan favorite. The seventh-overall pick in 2010 was put on the block this summer after it was clear that he wouldn't be signing a contract extension with the team.

It's no secret that Buffalo has been the worst scoring team in the NHL for quite a while. In the last five years the three-time last place finishers averaged a league-worst 2.19 goals/game which included being the only team to finish a season under two goals per game. And they did so twice in a row (2013-14, 2014-15.) It was also no secret that heading into the off season the Sabres had a gaping hole at left wing. Buffalo GM Jason Botterill filled it partially when he traded for Pittsburgh Penguins left winger Conor Sheary, a player he'd watched up close as a part of the Penguins front office, but the trade for Skinner was on another level.

Where he plays in the lineup will be dependent upon training camp and what kind of chemistry is built within the top six leading up to the regular season. The book on Skinner is that he likes the puck on his stick, has the speed, wicked maneuverability and stickwork to get into prime scoring areas and, obviously, has the skill-level to finish. Whether that meshes better with Eichel or Casey Mittelstadt is yet to be determined but for at least this year, no matter which line he's on, the Sabres have themselves a true goal-scorer on the left side.

What we wrote mid-season:  When Botterill mentioned Skinner's scoring at even strength, he wasn't kidding. The three-time 30-goal scorer is presently second in the league with 26 goals with 21 of them coming at even strength, which is also second in the league. Skinner already beat his 24 goals from last season and he's on pace to shatter his career high of 37 set in 2016-17. The guy most definitely has a deft touch around the net but the most fascinating part of his game might be his skating. Skinner learned figure skating as a young lad and as we've been lucky enough to see through 37 games in the Blue and Gold, he uses those skills to advantageously square himself to the play. In the offensive zone it's proven to be deadly. The chemistry between him and Eichel is unmistakable.

Impressions on his play this year:  Everything we heard about Skinner is true. His figure-skating background allows extensive maneuverability in tight quarters, which is often found around the net, he squares himself to the play and can finish. Botterill talked of Skinner and his propensity to score at even strength and he was proven correct. Of Skinner's career-high 40 goals this season, 32 of them came at even strength which placed him fifth in the league. 

In Buffalo we've had the opportunity to see his skating and his goal-scoring up close for a full 82-game season but an underrated aspect to Skinner's game is his moxie. No matter the situation, the 26 yr. old Skinner plays the game with confidence and an edge that has him chirping and butting heads with whomever draws his ire in the heat of the moment. But, he doesn't take stupid penalties (34 PIM) and when it comes time for the puck drop, he's gets back to the task at hand.

A lot has been said here in hockeybuzz threads about Skinner "disappearing when the team needed him most." He went 13 games without a goal from February 17 to March 14 and went goal-less for another eight games after finally scoring against his former team. Buffalo went 3-16-2 during that stretch in a dismal run that obliterated any hope of reaching the playoffs. However, Skinner pumped 73 shots on goal during that span, an average of 3.32 shots/game which was a hair above his season average of 3.27 shots/gm. Was Skinner choking under the pressure of a playoff run? Or was his goal drought more a product of the puck not finding the back of the net? That debate will rage on in chat rooms and social media but the two big questions facing Skinner and the Buffalo Sabres are...

Questions moving forward:  Will he re-sign in Buffalo and if so, what will the price be?

Contract info via CapFriendly, stats via sabres.com and hockey reference.com.

Buffalo Sabres 2018-19 Individual Stats Leaders--Final

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 4-8-2019


In the 2017 off season and into the 2017-18 season, debate raged in Sabreland over whether they should re-sign left wing Evander Kane, who was a pending free agent that year. Kane was a lightning rod for debate in Buffalo with an on-ice/off-ice dichotomy splitting the Sabres faithful in half. It really didn't matter because in the end the word on the street was that ownership didn't want to re-sign him. Buffalo traded Kane to the San Jose Sharks at the 2018 trade deadline and it was a good enough fit for both player and team for him to sign a 7yr/$49 million extension with the Sharks.

One of the big questions during the debate was how do you replace a player that averaged 24 goals in two full seasons and scored another 20 goals in 61 games before being traded? The view on one side was that scoring wingers were easy to come by while on the other view centered around good players in general being hard to come by. As it turned out, Sabres general manager Jason Botterill was able to make it work by trading for Carolina Hurricanes winger Jeff Skinner, who effectively replaced Kane in the goal-scoring department with the first 40-goal season for a Sabres player in 10 years. At least for one year.

Acquiring good players usually comes with a catch. It might be the price paid in free agency, or in terms of trade pieces, or the cap-hit involved in acquiring said player or it might be unknowns concerning his locker room presence and/or off-ice drama. In Skinner's case it was none of the above, but his catch was that he played last season on an expiring contract on a reasonable $5.7 million cap-hit. 

The pangs of growing pains. Plus, the Skinner situation

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 2-26-2019


Sabres fans never have a problem getting pumped up for a game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, regardless of where either team sits in the standings. At this point in time Buffalo is well behind in the Leafs talent-wise and their second year head coach, Phil Housley, isn't close to Toronto's Mike Babcock, whom the Sabres courted coming out of their tank years.

Last night Buffalo was in Toronto for the second game of their four-game season series and the Sabres had a little wind in their sails. They'd played a good game against the NHL-leading Tampa Bay Lighting but fell short in the shootout in Tampa then came home for a matinee against the defending Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals and won 5-2. In addition to that, Buffalo GM Jason Botterill was able to pull off a trade with the Anaheim Ducks for 24 yr. old defenseman Brandon Montour who should help a beleaguered blueline this year and into the future.

That's a fact Jack, Eichel is back. Plus, the "rockstar" (and All-Star) returns home

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-11-2019


Buffalo captain Jack Eichel looks to be back in the lineup as word from the rink in Carolina has him taking line-rushes with the team. Eichel was out with an upperbody injury suffered prior to their December 31 game vs. the NY Islanders. The Sabres leading scorer took the ice against the Islanders but only played a couple of minutes before leaving the game. Eichel missed three games full games and his team went 2-1-0 in his absence.

The cool part about Eichel being out and not having it be a total disaster is that we found out who on the team was ready to step up in his absence and one of those players earned a look on Eichel's line for tonight's game against the Hurricanes.

Tage Thompson started out the season slow and was a healthy scratch but received individual attention from the coaching staff and took it all in. Since getting back into the lineup he's slowly ramped up his game and was consistently one of the best Buffalo Sabres on the ice in Eichel's absence. Head coach Phil Housley ended up moving Thompson to right wing in a top-six role and the 6'6" 205 lb. winger responded with 11 shots, a goal, an assist and a plus-1 rating.

Thompson will join the Sabres leading scorer in Eichel (49 points) and their leading goal-scorer in Jeff Skinner.

C.J. Smith and Lawrence Pilut break through in Sabres win, plus other notes.

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 1-9-2019


Congratulations to rookies C.J. Smith and Lawrence Pilut on breaking through with their first NHL goals last night. Smith squeaked one past New Jersey Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid early in the second period to break a 1-1 tie while Pilut sent a seeing-eye wrister into the New Jersey net to finish off the scoring in Buffalo's 5-1 win.

Smith was denied on a golden opportunity early in the game as Kinkaid got his left pad down on a shot by Smith from just a few feet out before the Sabres forward dinked the rebound off the post from a very sharp angle with a wide open net. In the second period, however, Smith jumped on a turnover at the Devils blueline, wheeled to Kinkaid's left and sent a quick snap-shot that went between the goalie's body and blocker and dribbled towards the goal line. The puck seemingly crossed the line before New Jersey d-man Sami Vatanen fished it out, but the play went to a review where it was confirmed.



(via NHL.com)


The only player on the ice who was sure it was in was Smith, who had circled behind the net after taking the shot. "I saw it was in," said a beaming Smith to the gathered media post-game. "Nobody else knew it was in so I  kinda celebrated by myself."

Sabres can put to rest a major screw up with Skinner extension. Plus...

Published by hockeybuzz.com, 12-20-2018

It was the summer of 2007 and Buffalo was coming off of a President's Trophy-winning season that ended a little too soon for their liking. The Sabres lost their second consecutive Eastern Conference championship game and were headed into the off season with some big questions looming.

The NHL was finishing up their second season with the new salary cap structure and the first year was a big success with three smaller market teams in their respective conference championships. When the league came out of the '04-'05 lockout the salary-cap ceiling was $39 million and for the Sabres it was a very manageable figure. The following season it went to $44.9 million (a 15% jump)which would still afford a team like Buffalo the opportunity to compete with the larger market teams while still "breaking even," which was the organizational mantra under owner B. Thomas Golisano.

However, one could sense that individual star salaries were due for a sharp increase as evidenced by the arbitration award to Sabres center Daniel Briere of $5 million. Briere had an exceptional season with 25 goals and 33 assists in 48 games during an injury shortened season. Regardless of that, the award was still a stunner and would set team up for an imminent fail the following season.

Briere's one-year extension meant that he and co-captain Chris Drury would be unrestricted free agents at the end of the '06-'07 season. In addition, budding superstar Thomas Vanek would be a restricted free agent as well. Throughout the season there was that sinking feeling in Sabreland as the mantra would not allow for both Briere and Drury, along with Vanek, to be re-signed. As we would come to find out, team president Larry Quinn had decided upon re-signing Drury and letting Briere walk. Unfortunately for them, Drury signed a lucrative long-term deal with his boyhood idol NY Rangers while Briere, after being shunned by Buffalo, signed a lucrative, long-term deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. And to make matters worse, Vanek signed a seven-year offer-sheet with an average annual value of over $7 million.

It was a decision that would haunt them for over a decade.