Sabres intend to buy out former All-Star

Chad DeDominicis of Expected Buffalo reports that the Buffalo Sabres intend to buy out forward Jeff Skinner. Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet reported last week that the Sabres were considering a buyout of the final three years on Skinner’s deal. Still, with the buyout window opening on Wednesday, all signs indicate his time in Buffalo is finished.

Skinner is owed $22M for the final three seasons of his eight-year $72M contract, and his buyout will be spread out over the next six seasons. The numbers broken down by year will look like this (as per CapFriendly):

• Year 1 – $1.44M
• Year 2 – $4.44M
• Year 3 – $6.44M
• Year 4 – $2.44M
• Year 5 – $2.44M
• Year 6 – $2.44M

Buffalo will save $7.555M in the first year of the buy out, which will give the Sabres $31M in cap space to play with this summer as they look to return to the playoffs for the first time in over a decade.

For Skinner, the buyout ends a run in Buffalo that was mired by inconsistent offensive production and poor defensive play. Skinner was acquired by the Sabres back in August 2018 for a package that included a 2019 second-round draft pick, a third-round draft pick in 2020, as well as a sixth-round draft pick in 2020, and Cliff Pu. The trade initially looked like a big win for Buffalo as Skinner posted 40 goals and 23 assists in 82 games. He signed his massive extension in June 2019, and the relationship began souring.

Skinner couldn’t maintain his 14.9% shooting percentage from the 2018-19 season and fell on hard times the next two seasons, posting just 21 goals and 16 assists in 112 games. He bounced back in 2022-23, tallying 35 goals and 47 assists for a career-high 82 points in 79 games. However, the 32-year-old’s numbers cratered again this past season as he fell to 24 goals and 22 assists.

Skinner will find work this summer, as there is no shortage of teams looking for scoring and not a ton of it to be found in free agency. Skinner’s defensive work remains an issue, and he isn’t much of a puck carrier, but he should be able to latch on with a team on a short-term deal and possibly offer secondary scoring at a reduced price point.