The Buffalo Sabres have officially parted ways with Jeff Skinner, the team’s highest-paid forward, by buying out the final three years of the veteran’s contract.
The move comes a day after GM Kevyn Adams informed reporters at the NHL draft in Las Vegas that he had initiated the buyout papers. And it’s yet another example of how the Sabres have mismanaged their roster during what has become an NHL-record 13-season playoff drought.
The 32-year-old Skinner is the third player whose contract is bought out by Buffalo during that period, following Ville Leino and Christian Ehrhoff.
The acquisition comes as the Sabres are once again in transition, with Lindy Ruff returning as coach for a second stint, this time replacing Don Granato, who was fired after Buffalo underperformed and finished 12th in the Eastern Conference.
The move also signaled Adams’ failure to find a trade partner, with Skinner placing restrictions on him and giving him the right to reject a deal due to the “no move” clause in his contract.
This marks the end of Skinner’s inconsistent six-year tenure in Buffalo, where his production was inconsistent from season to season and he was often criticized for defensive lapses. Acquired by Carolina in the summer of 2018, Skinner scored a career-best 40 goals in his first season in Buffalo, prompting the team to sign him to an eight-year, $72 million contract.
The move frees up $7.55 million in Buffalo’s salary cap next season, though the Sabres now must pay out two-thirds of the remaining $22 million owed to Skinner over the next six seasons.
For Skinner, the 14-year veteran is immediately a free agent, allowing him to seize his long-awaited opportunity to compete in the play-offs.
Including his first eight seasons with Carolina, Skinner played 1,006 NHL games, the most of any player who was not part of a team that qualified for the playoffs.
Skinner underperformed last season. Though he finished with 24 goals — the ninth time he’s scored that many — he finished with just 46 points while struggling to find a consistent spot in the lineup. That was still a drop from the 35 goals and career-best 82 points Skinner scored the previous season.
“There are a lot of variables that go into this,” Skinner said during a season-ending session with reporters in April, indicating he planned to focus on those variables over the summer.
“I try to help the team win in whatever role I have,” he added. “I think I’ve been around long enough to be able to evaluate my own game and adjust it a little bit if I’m not happy with it.”
