Jeff Skinner Signs With EHC Biel-Bienne In Switzerland

Jeff Skinner has signed with Swiss Club EHCB through the 2026-27 season, according to a team announcement.

The 16-year NHL veteran was most recently with the San Jose Sharks after they mutually terminated his contract, a one-year, $3MM contract where he played 32 games, scoring six goals for 13 points in 2025-26. It ended with sitting in the press box for 10 straight games heading into the Olympic break, where he last suited up on Jan. 11, before the Sharks placed him on unconditional waivers for purposes of contract termination on Feb. 16.

He ended his Sharks tenure averaging 12:21 of ice time per game and tallied a -8 rating. Michael Misa, having been placed into top-six duties and the acquisition of Kiefer Sherwood from the Canucks pushed Skinner down the depth chart.

The 34-year-old brings a lot of NHL experience overseas to the National League; they’ll have a perfect pickup from him. The 2010 seventh overall pick recently passed the 1,100-game threshold earlier this season and averaged 28 goals and 53 points per 82 games throughout his career. His 2025-26 scoring was far from four seasons ago when he scored back-to-back 30-goal seasons and a career-high 82 points in the Buffalo Sabres’ 2022-23 campaign. His production dropped to 46 points in the following year, which is well below what a $9MM AAV winger should be producing, which forced the Sabres to buy out the remaining three years of that deal.

His lack of playoff experience came to a close after signing a one-year, $3MM deal with the Oilers in free agency of 2024; however, he dressed in only five games during their Stanley Cup Final run, coming off a 29-point campaign in the regular season.