It's important for me to say right off the bat that it hasn't been official, but it seems like Buffalo Sabres forward Jeff Skinner will have his contract bought out. Going by the reports, it sure seems like Skinner's tenure in Buffalo is coming to an end.
This isn’t breaking news. Friedman and Marek were on this a week ago.
— Chad DeDominicis (@CMDeDominicis) June 26, 2024
Multiple sources have confirmed to me the Sabres will buy out the last 3 years of Skinner’s contract barring an unforeseen trade.
I discuss his BUF career & reasoning for the move.https://t.co/eZNOSiqJqD
Unless Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams can trade Skinner, it looks like Buffalo will be buying out Jeff. There is no secret that he is a fan favorite in Buffalo ever since he got traded to the Sabres back in 2018 after the Carolina Hurricanes sent him to the 716.
While there are fans who are not happy about the report, I'm going to give one reason why it's a good thing for Buffalo and one reason why it's bad.
The bad
Let's start with the bad side of the spectrum. If it is true, the Sabres will be losing a pure goal scorer. It wasn't his best season but Skinner scored 24 goals and recorded 22 assists in 74 games played last year with the blue and gold. His 46 points were sixth best on the roster in 2023/2024.
Putting aside the Ralph Krueger years, Skinner has always been a huge part of the Sabres offense. This leads me into why it's good.
The good
Here is why it's a good thing. Even though Buffalo will have to pay for the next three years of his contract, it will free up $31 million in cap space. With that much money freed up, there is no excuse to get a big fish in free agency or in a trade. We have talked about multiple times that this offseason is going to make or break Adams. He needs to take advantage of the money.
Even though he scored, Skinner did not do a good job in the forecheck or defensive end of the ice. Whoever Adams replaces him with, let's hope that player can be a factor in those departments.