Power ranking the Sabres top offseason moves effects on rebounding in 2024-25
2 - Buying out Jeff Skinner’s contract to save cap space
Buying out Jeff Skinner’s contract was a rather gutsy move for Kevyn Adams, especially since he never replaced him with a consistent scorer. Ryan McLeod creates sensational depth, as we mentioned earlier, and Jason Zucker could turn out to have been a solid addition, but neither has consistently found the net in their respective NHL careers.
So perhaps Adams isn’t finished making moves to land one final piece before the preseason kicks off in September. Regardless, buying out the final three seasons of Skinner’s contract allowed Adams to pay just the remaining two-thirds, substantially reducing the costs of paying Skinner across his remaining three seasons, even if the 32-year-old will be playing in Edmonton.
Still, even if Adams doesn’t make another move, the Sabres are better off without Skinner in the lineup. It could create room for a current prospect, or for a promising young player like Zach Benson or JJ Peterka to see time on the first line - a pair of players who, in the long-run have much more to offer.
1 - Extending a qualifying offer to Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
This was an easy decision on the Sabres part to uphold Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s restricted free agent status. And whether they reach a deal in the coming days or at an arbitration hearing is irrelevant; Luukkonen will be a Buffalo Sabre next season.
Right now, we don’t know how long the term of the deal will be, but if Luukkonen enjoys a season similar to the one he went through in 2023-24 with an improved product on the ice, he’s in for another big outing. Last year, he notched career-highs in quite a few categories, including games played (54), shutouts (5), wins (27), and goals saved above expected (22.46).
Will he reach those same numbers in 2024-25 that also include a 0.910 save percentage and 2.57 GAA? It would be tough to get five shutouts, but other than that, he has more than a realistic chance to repeat what he did last season and he’ll be well paid for it.
feed
(Statistics powered by Hockey-Reference)