TRADE: Sabres acquire Jeff Skinner

[IKnowPhysics]

3 hours ago, Huckleberry said:

I think Carolina was with their backs against the wall on Skinner, they said they wanted to trade him.

Skinner supposed to have turned down the Kings, and maybe a few others, basically they took what they could get.

https://twitter.com/EASPORTSNHL/status/1025165676418236416/photo/1

I think it's worth it to post the whole thing here...

 

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When you have trade difficulty set to 'easy'. #NHL19

4:45 PM - 2 Aug 2018

 

 

And then it was brutally retweeted by the Sabres official account.

Edited August 3, 2018 by IKnowPhysics

[Ripper]

To those out there

 that hate Skinner --- why?

He always seemed to play well against us.  And +/- aside which is not entirely his fault, I respect his game.

[IKnowPhysics]

It's not too far to suggest the possibility that if he doesn't work out, he would be one of the better deadline rental prospects available for contenders.  We could flip Skinner potentially for... a first round pick.

Then Botterill:

[MakeSabresGrr8Again]

1 minute ago, Ripper said:

To those out there

 that hate Skinner --- why?

He always seemed to play well against us.  And +/- aside which is not entirely his fault, I respect his game.

Maybe this is why? I also think the concussions may turn people off. Think about it....allot of people hate Mardhand and Brady but that doesn't mean there any worse a player. 

[Ripper]

2 minutes ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

Maybe this is why? I also think the concussions may turn people off. Think about it....allot of people hate Mardhand and Brady but that doesn't mean there any worse a player. 

Ok, I get it, thanks

[erickompositör72]

15 minutes ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

Figured you might be upset they dumped Pu on Carolina,,,LOL

best so far IMO

[JJFIVEOH]

I haven't been a big fan of JBots so far. But, if he can manage a decent extension for the ballerina, I might be tended to sway how I feel about him.

[thewookie1]

How I see it is, great trade, even if he is unwilling to sign here we could likely acquire at minimum a similar return at the deadline. 

[Hoss]

Chz wasn’t making a joke when she mentioned Jeff Skinner the figure skater — he grew up one.

 

[Doohicksie]

54 minutes ago, Ripper said:

To those out there

 that hate Skinner --- why?

He always seemed to play well against us.  And +/- aside which is not entirely his fault, I respect his game.

In a Canes forum, a fan said that Skinner isn't a defensive liability, he's a defensive black hole.  So, yeah, his +/- is pretty much entirely on him.

And I don't care.  The Sabres have some good young talent and decent experience.  Their biggest problem recently is scoring.  I want a finisher.  I want Evander Kane's offensive zone presence without his locker room presence.  Skinner gives us that, but lines will have to be constructed such that Skinner's not expected to have a lot of defensive responsibility.

From reading the Carolina side of it though, Skinner got protected minutes when he broke into the league, but didn't have a complete enough game to earn top line minutes.  There was a lot of butting heads with coaches.  That was why he told them he wouldn't re-sign with the Canes.  Maybe playing for an offensive-minded coach will bring a different perspective.  Maybe getting traded will shake him up a little, give him some perspective, and he'll at least try to play some defense.

Even if he doesn't, the last time the Sabres made it to conference finals it was with Kotalik, Vanek and Afenigenov playing wing, none of whom played defense for beans, but they could finish.  I want that.  Skinner gives us that.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Doohickie

[WildCard]

https://twitter.com/EASPORTSNHL/status/1025165676418236416

[Andrew Amerk]

4 minutes ago, WildCard said:

https://twitter.com/EASPORTSNHL/status/1025165676418236416

You’re late to that party 

[Doohicksie]

5 minutes ago, WildCard said:

https://twitter.com/EASPORTSNHL/status/1025165676418236416

OUCH.

?

1 hour ago, Ripper said:

 that hate Skinner --- why?

No hate here.  I think he's gonna be great here.

[Sabel79]

1 hour ago, Ripper said:

To those out there

 that hate Skinner --- why?

He always seemed to play well against us.  And +/- aside which is not entirely his fault, I respect his game.

 

1 hour ago, MakeSabresGrr8Again said:

Maybe this is why? I also think the concussions may turn people off. Think about it....allot of people hate Mardhand and Brady but that doesn't mean there any worse a player. 

There's also the diving.  Which always drove me nuts.  But eh, a new uniform can change one's outlook on a player.  
(As long as it's not Doug Gilmour.  Seriously, #### that guy)

[Doohicksie]

2 minutes ago, Sabel79 said:

(As long as it's not Doug Gilmour.  Seriously, #### that guy)

Yeah.  #### him.

Edited August 3, 2018 by Doohickie

[Two or less]

I noticed a lot of people are disappointed to see Cliff Pu traded. But Jeff Skinner has scored over 200 goals in the NHL. I loved Pu's potential and think Carolina eventually will see a good return on this trade, but this was a no brainer for the Sabres imo. Sabres have to start getting closer to winning and changing that culture in that locker room with all those talented kids there, and i think it's easier to trade guys like Pu since the Sabres 4 first round picks in the next two years and also are covering the college UFA map pretty well, signing guys like CJ Smith and Andrew Oglevie, both of whom the Sabres seem high on.

[IKnowPhysics]

 

This trade has the potential to be a unicorn.  Depending on Skinner's performance and contract extension, this trade is in the realm of being the type of old school ripoff that a franchise looks back on and asks "how the did we pull that off?" The type of trade that you just don't see much anymore, either because CBA or because pro scouting.  The ceiling on this trade is ludicrously in our favor.

When we acquired Danny Briere, we gave up Chris Gratton, who had 44 points in 66 games that year.  Gratton was a higher price than Cliff Pu.  Now I'm not saying Skinner will put up 95 points like Briere, but when Briere came to Buffalo, he wasn't quite yet the proven goal scorer that Jeff Skinner is right now, and we were able to acquire him only spending Cliff Pu and picks.

When we talk about rebuilding a franchise and having to do it through the draft, we talk about it that way because a) we know that we could never reliably depend on other teams giving us large asymmetric advantages in trades and b) we know the CBA has mostly leveled the economic playing field, clamped down on player retention, and reduced the ability to consistently make big additions via free agency.  This trade has the potential to break that way of thinking: it could be so asymmetric, it ends up considerably augmenting the home-grown talent, so much so that we may look back on the tank as only part of the rebuild.

https://www.tsn.ca/statistically-speaking-skinner-a-gift-for-sabres-1.1152382

Quote

 

Skinner, 26, is a first-line scoring winger who hasn’t necessarily had the best support in Carolina.

He has 89 goals over the past three seasons, 74 at even strength, tied for 12th and seventh, respectively, over that time frame. He's a three-time 30-goal scorer.

He’s an elite shot generator, recording 19 shot attempts per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play over the past three seasons. That also ranks seventh in the league. When he was on the ice last season, the Hurricanes created high-quality chances, yet somehow he finished with an on-ice shooting percentage of 6.3%, well below his career mark of 7.9%. The prime time to deal for a scorer is when they are coming off a season of low percentages, so that already looks good for the Sabres.

Skinner had concussion problems earlier in his career, but he's been healthy lately, missing a total of three games over the past three seasons.

Last season in Carolina, Derek Ryan was Skinner’s most frequent centre; the two seasons before that it was Victor Rask. They’re fine NHL players, but it’s possible that Skinner could be even more productive alongside a more skilled pivot.

 

Since joining the league in 2010, he ranks 20th overall in total goals scored and 10th overall (4th among LWs) in even strength goals scored.  Jeff Skinner is an elite goal scorer that is now a Buffalo Sabre playing with elite playmakers.

Edited August 3, 2018 by IKnowPhysics

[dudacek]

Does this mean Botterill did better than most gave him credit for in the Kane trade?

1st, 4th and O’Regan or a 2nd, 3rd, 6th and Pu?

[GoPuckYourself]

I've been hoping for a Skinner trade for some time, been mentioning it in many of the speculation forums on here, I love this deal for Buffalo, they just got a ton faster and Eichel has a legit goal scorer with Skinner.

[North Buffalo]

What I like about him is that he goes to the greasy areas.  Lots of jam plays and finding rebounds.  He also has a set of hands to... and man he has speed and good balance on his skates.  We will see about how he does getting back on D.  But he gives Sabres a legit break out option.  One we hopped Baptiste or Bailey would turn into.  Hoping Baptiste can learn from him...  Between Skinner and Sheary, finally some real speed with hands and noses for the net on the wings.   If KO can rejuvenate, Sabres may actually score some goals this year and will definitely open up space for Jack, Sam and Mitts.

11 minutes ago, GoPuckYourself said:

I've been hoping for a Skinner trade for some time, been mentioning it in many of the speculation forums on here, I love this deal for Buffalo, they just got a ton faster and Eichel has a legit goal scorer with Skinner.

 

[nucci]

Well, this changes everything...

10 hours ago, North Buffalo said:

So JBots has to be thinking young wingers not ready and KO no longer capable so interesting move..

or just we need better players

[Sabre fan]

Obviously JBotto has an agenda against OHL players but I kind of hate the thought of doing what EXGMTM was balsted for...giving young prospects for older established players that are only here for a year or two (Skinner will be gone next summer for sure...)

[Huckleberry]

10 hours ago, nfreeman said:

 

Got it a link on the Kings item?  

Not too many guys say no to LA but yes to Buffalo.  Maybe it’s a Dahlin butterfly effect.

 

 

 

https://world.hockeyfeed.com/nhl-news/breaking-skinner-rejects-trade

Only thing I could find for now about him rejecting a few trades.    Every board I read suggests he had a very limited number of teams he wanted to go to.

[WildCard]

If nothing else at least we can finally end all the bad Pu jokes 

[sodbuster]

1 minute ago, WildCard said:

If nothing else at least we can finally end all the bad Pu jokes 

So what you're saying is that you're relieved to get all of the Pu out of your system?