Practice Update 2/21/21

[Archie Lee]

The contract was an enormous mistake.  That was clear from the beginning.  The best comparable players to Skinner before he signed his deal were Jordan Eberle and Brendan Gallagher.  Why we felt the need to sign him to a $9 mil deal when he was a $5.5 - $6.5 million dollar player is a mystery.  When a $5.5 - $6.5 million dollar players demand $10 million per year in free agency, you just let him walk.

That said, there is no point in trying to make him a $9 million player or in lamenting it any further.  What the Sabres should be trying to do is turn him back into the $5.5 - $6.5 million dollar player that he was/is.  If they can do that they the dead cap space isn't $9 million, it's $2.5 - $3.5 million. 

Jeff Skinner scoring 25ish goals and 45ish points on the 2nd or 3rd line is not a star player...but he is not a lost cause either.  Krueger is a disaster if he can't get Skinner to be what Skinner is.  

 

[pi2000]

the only gripe i have with skinner is that he seems to quit on plays... his first effort is good, but second and thrid effort are not consistent enough.

[Brawndo]

37 minutes ago, Pimlach said:

I hope they see this is a mistake.  I would unload at the trade deadline and get something.  

Fancy stats.  BUT ... 
 

When you watch the game you see a guy working hard but not really working with anyone.  He is in the slot or in front of the net when there is not a realistic chance of getting him the puck.  Or he is coasting on the perimeter when they need him in the dirty zone.  For all his efforts he just doesn’t work well with anyone?   Strange, but the result is no goals for a guy that needs to be fed and loves to shoot. 

 This could be a slump he plays his way out of but he won’t have a chance too  if he stays on the 4th and 5th lines.  

 

However, when he is on the ice with his line the majority of the time the puck is in the offensive zone. 
 

Now compare this to Okposo who has zero points, Has Drawn 2 penalties and has been shown to actually make his line mates worse and they spend a majority of team in the defensive zone. His offense is well offensive. 
 

This team is still struggling to generate 5v5 goals, if Krueger’s Reasoning for benching Skinner over Okposo is because the former doesn’t play His System exactly the way he wants but generates scoring chances, while the latter plays His System but just plain sucks that’s hurting the team in the long run. He is going to neutralize another line by sitting Skinner and playing Okposo. 
 

If he wants to send a message, sit Okposo first or at least sit both of them . 
 

 

[Gatorman0519]

1 hour ago, Archie Lee said:

The contract was an enormous mistake.  That was clear from the beginning.  The best comparable players to Skinner before he signed his deal were Jordan Eberle and Brendan Gallagher.  Why we felt the need to sign him to a $9 mil deal when he was a $5.5 - $6.5 million dollar player is a mystery.  When a $5.5 - $6.5 million dollar players demand $10 million per year in free agency, you just let him walk.

That said, there is no point in trying to make him a $9 million player or in lamenting it any further.  What the Sabres should be trying to do is turn him back into the $5.5 - $6.5 million dollar player that he was/is.  If they can do that they the dead cap space isn't $9 million, it's $2.5 - $3.5 million. 

Jeff Skinner scoring 25ish goals and 45ish points on the 2nd or 3rd line is not a star player...but he is not a lost cause either.  Krueger is a disaster if he can't get Skinner to be what Skinner is.  

 

Add to that Okposo is getting paid that money and scores 6 goals a year.  My goodness do we hand out bad contracts. 

[GASabresIUFAN]

2 hours ago, freester said:

There is no possible realistic situation that the contract would be fine.  He could play all pp minutes and all minutes with Jack and it would still be the worst contract in the league. It’s too long and a NMC in addition to 9 million/ year. Unless Skinner turns into Austin Matthews it’s a bad deal. 

 

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

There is an argument to be made with Skinner playing were He is. It does create three lines that have a chance to score. 
Skinner has gotten scoring chances and put himself in position to score, the dude is cursed it seems 
When he was moved to Staal and later Eichel’s Line, His previous line really struggled. 
I do not believe this was Krueger’s Plan when He moved Him though, it was accidental, fire him 

Would anyone her be complaining if Skinner followed up last year with a 25-30 goal season and potted at least 4 so far this year?  Nope.  Many people said when the contract was signed that there was no way he could live up to that contract and they were correct, but no one would be saying that the contract was the worst contract in the league.  Unfortunately for Skinner he has RK as his coach and RK kills skills players.

Edited February 22, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[freester]

47 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

 

Would anyone her be complaining if Skinner followed up last year with a 25-30 goal season and potted at least 4 so far this year?  Nope.  Many people said when the contract was signed that there was no way he could live up to that contract and they were correct, but no one would be saying that the contract was the worst contract in the league.  Unfortunately for Skinner he has RK as his coach and RK kills skills players.

Didn’t Jack have his best year under RK and isn’t he a skill player?

[SwampD]

14 minutes ago, freester said:

Didn’t Jack have his best year under RK and isn’t he a skill player?

Forget it. He's rollin'.

[DarthEbriate]

2 hours ago, Brawndo said:

If he wants to send a message, sit Okposo first or at least sit both of them . 

I like Okposo as much as anyone. It hurts to write it, but Kylo Wan Okposo's lost his speed to the point that Sheahen would've blown him off the 4th line if Girgs were healthy. A on his sweater or not, it's time to send him to play in Rochester. 10 games was enough to see if he still had it. Thompson hasn't looked any better, but Mitts or CJ Smith or R2 would replace everything he does and more. Or... as a sleeper, another slower player in Brett Murray. I think Thompson in Rochester and Murray as a big guy on the 4th line in Buffalo would actually work -- even though Murray is also slow.

1 hour ago, GASabresIUFAN said:

Would anyone her be complaining if Skinner followed up last year with a 25-30 goal season and potted at least 4 so far this year?

Unfortunately, on this year's Sabres 4 goals would be amazing.

[GASabresIUFAN]

1 hour ago, freester said:

Didn’t Jack have his best year under RK and isn’t he a skill player?

Only because of a career best shooting%.  His shots actually fell from 4 shots per game under Housley per game to 3.3 last season. This drop despite being primarily a playmaker for Skinner under Housley.   Had Jack scored at his usual 10% last season he would have scored 22 goals down from 28 the year before.  

So yes he had a career year but that was more despite RK then because of him.  
 

Remember Reinhart, Skinner, Sheary, Erod, Mittelstadt, Montour and Vesey all had decreased production under RK last.

Edited February 22, 2021 by GASabresIUFAN

[PerreaultForever]

10 hours ago, SwampD said:

I was thinking the same thing. I thought he looked really good last games. He is really skilled.

? How? I'm not seeing that at all.

I knew the Skinner deal was a mistake. Most people knew it was too much money. Nobody thought it would be this extreme. Both Okposo and Skinner were given big contracts by desperate GMs who felt they needed a quick add (and success that goes with that usually) to save their jobs. Both failed miserably and in the case of Skinner there is no real solution. 

[spndnchz]

Grab a bunch of misfits and go win a Cup. 💁🏼‍♀️

[IKnowPhysics]

5 minutes ago, spndnchz said:

Grab a bunch of misfits and go win a Cup. 💁🏼‍♀️