Is Jeff Skinner going to be bought out by the Buffalo Sabres?
now Jesse you are actually lucky this is actually a perfect time for you to come on an episode we’ve gotten probably the biggest Sabers related news anything rumor in a long time and Christian and JP are not here to talk about it consider yourself lucky I I like I like I’ve stated before I’m I’m just blessed to be here just happy to happy to be here and share my thoughts on the the sabr news well to jump right into it Jeff Skinner without a doubt the biggest piece of news to come out recently something that we probably had never really given thought to um or at least when JP Christian and I had gotone together and talked about it or even even and just addressed the idea of a possible Jeff Skinner buyout we just kind of threw it to the side we never really saw it as a realistic um option a possibility and given that it was you were setting yourself up at face value you’re setting yourself up to take on dead money you know it it didn’t really seem like in the the mo of I guess a Terry Pula ran team or at least a team that was trying to commit to being uh financially responsible but you know the more you think about it and the more you dig into what the details of the bio look like you see why this is a real possibility and you’re seeing why possibly Jeff Skinner has most likely played his his last game as a buffalo saber It’s just sad to see that this is it’s gotten to this point that he because this is you know Jeff Skinner is still a good hockey player um it’s just can you take on that contract for what he gives on the ice and it’s gotten to the point where the stakes of next season what they are they just you you can’t justif you maybe just can’t justify it from a certain point of view anymore he he’s still good for the team and he’s definitely someone that I wouldn’t hate to have around but I don’t think he’s $9 million good and that’s where this does seem like something that I’m I’m not for or against it right now because um for me at least uh I feel like it depends on what they do with the cap space that they’re saving and and if they’re if they’re just buying them out to just get rid of the contract and then they don’t really spend any of the money that they’re saving then keeping them around in a third line role possibly it wouldn’t be the end of the world you bring up a good point because you might ask yourself why are the Sabers doing this you’re committing to dead money for the next five seasons everybody knows what next season is shaping up to be everybody knows what the stakes are everybody know knows what they have to do and buying him out now gives them an extra $7.5 million to play with in the off season and you know conceivably the idea of doing this and gaining that extra cap flexibility you you would hope that they end up spending that money now if they didn’t I I don’t know what I don’t even want to think about that scenario because then it’s just like you know what’s even the point but yeah you feasibly you take that 7 million and you go and get um I mean obviously you have to replace Skinner now because at the very least he’s a middle six forward and has been in their top six for uh an extended time now and using that money for another addition if it’s in the bottom six or you’re using it in tandem to get a top four Edition so the idea of that getting that extra boost would be to conceivably spend as close to the cap with that extra money but then that that is also something that I think they have to be careful about because as I just checked cap friendly which I have heard is a good friend of the show there is I believe it’s two years down the line where it jumps his cap hit jumps up if we buy out to 6.4 6.5 around there and that’s definitely something that they have to be careful with when they have to resign Quinn and petka either the start of this season or if they let him go without extensions and they have to resign him next off seon yeah so to to break down like if they buy him out cuz the buyout window is going to open on Thursday uh the Stanley Cup’s going to be awarded Monday night no matter what and then 48 hours later is when the bout window opens so on Thursday we’ll get our we’ll probably get our answer year one is only a $1.4 million cap hit for Skinner’s dead money but then the next two seasons is where you see your challenge because it jumps up to $4.4 million in 2025 2026 and then the big one in 2627 it goes all the way up to $6.4 million and that’s Hefty now the Cap’s Rising you’re getting more you’re going to be getting more money feasibly in that time from the league but still $6 million for a player that isn’t in your lineup when when Quinn’s going to need a contract PKA is going to need a contract Byrum needs an extension next summer Levi needs one next summer and then Alex tuck is going to need a contract and that’s $6 million uh that you kind of have to avoid for a full season but you have to like it just it goes back to the main point this season this upcoming season is really what it Ma what it what matters the most and after that $6.4 million cap hit in 2627 it’s 2.4 for another 3 years that’s not going to kill you uh in a rising Cap World who knows what the cap looks like in 2028 2029 yeah so that that just kind of all brings it back to um I definitely before it if this move bringing up the round seven and a half is going towards making the team better next season now something that we discussed or we would always it would be our go-to response I know Christi and I talked about it a lot is um you know just hold off till next year do it next year um take another season find out if he’s really not a uh find out if he’s not a top six forward anymore and then buy him out but you look at the what the salary uh what the balance looks like if you were to do it in a year’s time it’s still a $4 million capit in 2520 and it’s still 6 million in 2627 you still have those two big years so you were never going if you were always going to buy out Jeff Skinner you were never going to get out of those two big seasons and then the question becomes are you a better team with him on your roster heading into next season are you willing to take that risk or are you know are you going to are you going to get bit in the ass because you didn’t buy him out immediately and maybe go and spend that on a Nikolai eers or pav bvic whoever and the question’s all spend raay you know why not just trade him well who’s gonna take that contract hey who’s gonna take that contract I mean hey maybe Washington would have given what they just did this previous week but hey who’s going to want that contract it’s $9 million for three more seasons uh for a forward that is arguably the worst defensive forward in hockey um it’s too much and above all else he gets to control where he goes he has the final say and for anybody that remembers when he got traded here in 2018 he waved a no trade clause to come to Buffalo because he’s from the Toronto area he’s close to home so you think about the teams that could conceivably take him on say Chicago or San Jose he’s not going to wave to go all the Way Out West for our team that’s once again in a rebuild I mean maybe he would play with Conor maybe he would want to play with Conor Bard but I find that highly unlikely and it just moves him farther away from home I mean when he hits free agency I will not be surprised if or one slash if he hits free agency if he signs with a Toronto or an Ottawa or Montreal I wouldn’t be surprised if he stays in the East maybe even Tampa Bay ah not for N9 million he won’t D for anybody well we didn’t we did leave that part out Jesse is a part Tampa Bay Lightning fan well when you’re a Sabers fan and they’re not around in the playoffs I kind of gravit gravitated towards uh rooting for them in the April to June months the past few years yeah they’ve been pretty good hey could be worse there’s a large contingent of Patrick Kane jerseys in this city you could gone down that path so I really haven’t gotten into what do I think is right you know what do we think is right is this correct is this the correct decision and you know is this a short-sighted uh is this a short-sighted move if they do end up doing it or is is this the smart thing that even you know maybe you bite the bullet in 25 26 26 27 but you’re still able to you know progress fine for me personally I’m I’m for the move but it’s it’s reluctant because I really do I feel like they’re going to struggle to compete in 2627 um and not struggle to compete but be the peak of the uh of what they can be with that cat pit I mean if you think about where you want this team to be in two years time I know it sounds crazy but you you do want them to start pushing Conference Finals you want series wins conceivably if you look at the season overseason jump that the New Jersey Devils made with Lindy Ruff they nearly won the division they had what 110 points and Carolina just beat them out um maybe you’re pushing for a cup by that time and it’s it would really really stink if $6 million of dead cap prevented you from another decent addition I’m also I’m just from our conversation here I’ve I’ve also kind of been drawn to agree that it it would be the right move but cuz that cap hit that he would the dead cap hit would still be less than what they’d be paying him and given that the guy probably doesn’t want to be playing bottom six minutes you probably think that his performance is going to fall off even more than it already has so you’d still be paying him 9 million if you kept him around so it does seem like saving the 3 2.5 it’s just something that that they have to keep in mind when they’re signing all these guys and that so it doesn’t sneak up on them and when you’re thinking about roster building you know placing him in the lineup he’s just not a guy you can have in your bottom six he’s not big he doesn’t forche and you can’t really trust him with defensive Zone starts there’s a certain way to play Jeff Skinner and it has to be in the top six with heavy offensive zone usage giving him offensive zone starts and when you’re when you’re building this roster a pka’s already passed him uh on the depth chart and B his production declined as we all know and see from day one everybody was pointing to the fit with Lindy Ruff just not being not lining up l rough teams have famously been heavy on the for check they’re quick teams that are going to force you into pressure I mean that’s what the Devils did so well when they broke out two seasons ago they were relentless on the for check and Jeff Skinner he doesn’t for check he sits back he waits for you know maybe he’ll do a clean takeaway but he’s waiting for others to create and then he’s going to find the soft areas that’s where he’s going to hurt you he’s going to find the spot on the ice where nobody can cover him and look that’s why he’s an effective forward in the NHL I’m not saying there’s a right or wrong way to play Jeff Skinner is you know playoff Jokes Aside like he is a great player in the NHL and he’s going to he’s probably going to help a playoff Contender wherever he goes but the fit is just not there with what is lining up to be the 24 or 25 Savers and that’s something that I think Adam sort of reflected in his his press conference on Thursday uh this was was a pre-draft press conference but inevitably questions were all over the place and one of the first ones was about the Skinner rumor because prior to then the only reason that we had heard about this in the first place it was Jeff Merrick Elliot Friedman talking about it out of nowhere which you always raise an eyebrow at because if those two start talking about something it’s probably starting to move in that direction and Adams didn’t exactly kill that um of all the of all the questions he got at that press conference I think that was the one he avoided um and just said they were open to anything so you know they’re you know they’re talking about this that this is this is a real possibility and even one point in his answer about that question he even subtly mentioned that he talked to Terry Pula about this so you know like I said this is something to definitely talked about so yeah it’s it’s unfortunate uh Jeff Skinner without a doubt one of the most likable Sabers players throughout the drought maybe the most likable I mean who unless your name is Ralph Krueger or Steve Smith who hates Jeff Skinner the guy is just he’s a joy to watch on the ice especially when he’s playing good and he’s getting under the team skin but he’s also incredibly fun and unique player to watch it’s it’s sad this this 10e deserve to go better if this is really the end and um I just I can’t he he’s of all the players that have left Buffalo recently from the droughts and you know there’s possibility you know one of the drought players is going to be lifting a Stanley Cup come Monday um Jeff Skinner I really would not I there’s literally zero hate placed At His Feet um when you talk about guys like EO Reinhardt even Oak poo you know they have their if people who just dislike them or don’t want to see them succeed I just can’t I would never be able to get there with Jeff Skinner I hope that guy wins a freaking and KH Smite I only wish the best for him yeah I I can’t help but agree with that point there’s could you say guys like aoso I’m one of them I I I really don’t care to see him win anything but for sure if Skinner ever well if they do buy out Skinner then I’ll I’ll definitely still be rooting for him wherever he ends up it’s been a long time it’s it’s been six right six years in Buffalo it’s crazy to think but it’s it’s sad to see it’s sad to see he’s a joy to watch no more between two stalls no more uh that’s the killer no more of his smile around the locker room just a shame just a shame
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