BUFFALO — Jeff Skinner’s contract could be bought out by the Buffalo Sabres, general manager Kevyn Adams said Thursday.
The 32-year-old forward has three seasons remaining on an eight-year, $72 million contract (average annual value of $9 million) he signed with the Sabers on June 7, 2019.
“Nothing is off the table,” Adams said of Skinner. “We are going to talk about everything. Let’s analyze all the scenarios. But that’s probably as far as I can go right now as far as specifics.”
Skinner scored 46 points (24 goals, 22 assists) in 74 games this season, a drop after his NHL career-high 82 points (35 goals, 47 assists) in 79 games in 2022-23. In 2021-22, he tied what was then his NHL career-high with 63 points (33 goals, 30 assists) in 80 games.
Skinner has 291 points (153 goals, 138 assists) in 427 games over six seasons with Buffalo, which acquired Skinner in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes on August 2, 2018. He has played 1,006 NHL games in 14 NHL seasons, but has never played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
This season fell well short of expectations for the Sabres, who have not qualified for the playoffs since 2011, over a span of 13 seasons. Buffalo (39-37-6) finished sixth in the Atlantic Division after going 42-33-7 in 2022-23, when it finished one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card to the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Coach Don Granato was fired on April 16 and Lindy Ruff, the last coach to guide the Sabers to the playoffs, was hired as his replacement six days later.
“I know there are rumors out there. There are rumors about different scenarios,” Adams said. “What I can tell you is…every single thing we do this offseason we ask ourselves the question: ‘Does this help our team get better?’ Does this put us in a position to improve?’ And we’ve made a lot of decisions up to this point with that in mind, and we’re going to continue.”
That includes what Buffalo could do with the 11th pick in the 2024 NHL Draft, which begins at Sphere in Las Vegas on June 28.
“I’ve told every team in the league that we’re open to considering moving the 11th pick,” Adams said. “To be honest, we are open to considering anything: prospects, if we think it will help our team. We’re having those conversations right now.
Buffalo has built a deep pool of prospects under Adams, who was named general manager in June 2020. In previous years, Buffalo has been reluctant to move picks and prospects to ensure the organization is set up for sustainable long-term success.
Part of that plan has been to lock up members of the Sabres’ core. Centers Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens and defensemen Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson are each signed for at least the next six seasons.
Now is the time to take the next step.
“I think we’ve moved into another phase where we have to be really open and try to make these types of decisions,” Adams said. “…But this year in particular is the first time I would say we’re more comfortable with the type of place we’ve built our prospect pool and that if the right opportunity exists, we’ll be ready to do it.” .”
Buffalo is also working on a new contract for goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who can become a restricted free agent on July 1.
The 25-year-old emerged as a starter for the Sabers this season, when he went 27-22-4 with a 2.57 goals-against average and a .910 save percentage in 54 games (51 starts). His five shutouts tied for fifth-most in the NHL.
Talks with Luukkonen’s representatives began in March; Those conversations will continue in the draft, and Adams said he’s confident they’ll get a deal done.
“They have been productive,” he said of the negotiations. “I like to start these conversations by making sure we’re aligned, if the player wants to be here, if he believes in what we’re doing, because if you’re not, if you don’t start there in a good way, place, I think it’s going to be a real challenge.
“And ‘UPL’ made it very clear, he loves this team, he loves the city, he wants to be here. We are excited about him and we are going to work on it.”
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