WAS THE JEFF SKINNER BUYOUT A NECESSARY MOVE FOR BUFFALO? – Sabres Semantics
we’ll get into the Jeff Skinner buyout now Austin and this was one that caught some Sabres fans off guard but some maybe not so much but uh as we look at cap friendly and this might be one of the last times that we’ll ever be able to use cap friendly because the website has obviously been bought by the Washington Capitals moving forward we’ll see uh if there’s going to be another website for us to be able to use as a resource on this show but the Jeff Skinner buyout the first year is only 1.4 million but the next couple years after that and you’d think those are going to be years that are going to be tough for Buffalo because they’re going to be looking to be contenders playoff teams at that point 4.4 million in 25 26 and then in 2627 it goes up to 6.4 million on their cap and then it goes down to 2.4 for the next 3 years afterward Austin what are your thoughts on the buyout itself and then the cap ramifications for the Sabers down the road yeah I think the buyout itself was necessary necessary is a tough word because they haven’t really replaced the top six forward yet so necessary might not be the best word but when you kind of looked at the shift in philosophy the the you know the the emphasis on speed responsibility and the two-way game that this team now is apparently preaching Skinner doesn’t really fit that he can still score in this league I think he’s going to do really well in Edmonton he’s GNA you know he’s gonna play a similar game to to Zack hman in Edmonton right he’s gonna you know score from in close he’s probably gonna have a lot of opportunities on rebounds and things like that and while he’s not the fat he’s not fast he’s never been fast but he is still a very good skater in terms of his Edge work and his ability to get to those areas but you kind of heard Kevin Adams say it we don’t view we weren’t going to use him in the top six this year he doesn’t have that skill set to play in the bottom six and he never really has and there’s nothing like there’s no wrong like that’s not that’s okay they paid Jeff Skinner to score goals and except for that Ralph Krueger stuff that happened that kind of took two years away of his prime he has scored goals so I’m okay with the buyout I’m annoyed they never replaced him in the top six but I am definitely okay with the bio because yeah at some point $9 million for a pure offensive guy just wasn’t worth it he still scored 24 goals last year so like he he wasn’t completely off the cliff I’m bet you he’s going to score 25 in Edmonton but I I have no issue with it like I said I take the issue the issue is the moves that have not happened after the Skinner buyout because you saved so much cap space and you didn’t really do anything with it but the bio itself yeah I I understand it but I do think that Jeff Skinner is a lot more useful than you know some people like most people understand why he was B it most people realize he wasn’t washed uh he’s just he’s not a good two-way player he’s never been a good two-way player and right now that’s what Buffalo needs in their bottom six and he was going to be a bottom six player you you saw it last year he got moved off the Tage and Tuck line and they replaced with PKA and that line immediately took off at the end of the season so it just it’s something kind of Switched halfway through the year where it just wasn’t working for him anymore and under this new regime he was going to have to be a responsible 2-a player and he’s just never been that so I it’s cool I get it do you think maybe because of the emergence of a guy like JJ PKA and Zack Benson being a star rookie at 18 years old uh also you know pushing that uh that envelope and then you got guys like rosan and kich that are basically you know Fringe nhlers at this point ready to come up making a guy like Skinner Expendable and then they obviously moved on from seavoy as well so uh do you think that the play of you know the bensons the petkas and then having such great depth with their top prospect that are ready to come up from Rochester uh factoring into the equation of Skinner just was the odd man out there of another skilled offensive guy that needed to to be moved out yeah I’m sure it factors in a little bit but like I said to me it was just they Adam said it himself he like I don’t Edmonton said they view him as a top six but Adam said they weren’t going to use him as a top six and when you look at his skill set his skill set is that of if I’m not playing in the top six I’m not exactly useful to the team because he’s a pure offensive player he does get under the skin of other you know of the opponents he’s a he’s a disturber that way but he’s he’s not a responsible two-way player who’s going to give it as all in the defensive end and he’s never been so when you look at some of the players that they’ve signed like you know zuker might not be the greatest defensive player at all but he’s he’s a perfectly capable third line scoring Winger he’s not going to kill you defensively the way Jeff Skinner would and did last year so I I I do get it I do think again there’s a glaring hole that someone’s got to got to fill but in terms of the way that Lindy Ruff was going to use him it’s just I think it was more that and then they’ll worry about the later which clearly that’s been their philosophy because they haven’t necessarily addressed that top six role yet so it’s it is what it is he’s the bio is going to affect you in a couple years which obviously stinks but I think they’re a smart enough team cap wise to to plan ahead with that
In this small clip from our offseason update show, Brandon Caputo and Austin Broad discussed the decision to buyout forward Jeff Skinner knowing the large cap penalties in 2025-26 and 2026-27, along with the hole that it now opens in the Sabres Top-6 with Skinner signing in Edmonton.
FULL EPISODE: https://youtu.be/01C3-O64VDg?si=n4xai8AC7RlLTpOE
Intro Songs Credit:
Ivan from Guitar Logic: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bmy9KGCcfVA
Joe Bucci: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5ZiMjXQDtY&t=1s
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2 Comments
When they hired Lindy Ruff it became inevitable. Lindy Ruff isn’t going to waste a year or a top/six spot on an offense only forward in his top six. Look at all his efforts to make Vanek more responsible defensively. Lindy hire, Skinner gone.
Well put. I agree.