Confirmed with Link: Jeff Skinner -- Bought Out 6/29/24

[tsujimoto74]

Eichel had the 7th highest cap hit this season, and finished T-23rd in points. Is Eichel a top 10 player (all positions) in the NHL? Clearly not. Top 25? Doubtful.

His contract has the potential to be a bargain after years 5 or 6 as the cap increase (assuming the cap increases), but right now there's no question he's overpaid.

And to be clear, I don't think it's a terrible contract. I just think Eichel was overpaid by about 1m per year (much like Skinner).

You're comparing his AAV against those of a bunch of players who signed years ago to front-loaded deals with cap hits artificially depressed by their length, neither of which are things you can do now, though. I bet if you limited your pool to players who signed contracts under the current CBA, you'd see Eichel slotting in about where he should relative to his peers.

 

[littletonhockeycoach]

TPegs is just gonna have to drill a few more wells......

 

[Fjordy]

Yeah baby and I don't care about the cost, I just wanted he to stay, now it'll be easier to fill in the other parts.

 

[Cirris]

Yeah baby and I don't care about the cost, I just wanted he to stay, now it'll be easier to fill in the other parts.

Would have liked to see him signed at 8mil AAV instead.

But sadly, McPhee drove up the market signing Stone to 9.5 AAV right at the trade deadline.

 

[Tsyolin]

Lol the main board thread for this is a complete disaster.

 

[Buffaloed]

Ask yourself, if Skinner had just scored 40 for Carolina and was hitting UFA what would the deal look like to bring him into Buffalo to play with Eichel?

Would I love to have seen 8x8, sure, but it is the price of business these days. The biggest issue with these signings for guys in their mid to late 20s and beyond is that they are average skaters who lose a step or two and just fall apart. Skinner's skating should keep him productive for years to come.

Skinner has a virtually indestructible loose-limbed body. His joints have an incredible range of motion. I wouldn't be surprised if he's still a sought after player when this contract is done.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

I was wrong and I will eat crow. Good job Botts, getting this done. It is what it is on the term and dollars, but I'm glad he's still a Sabre.

 

[Chainshot]

Glad it's done. Now get on with make some more additions.

 

[dang111]

You cant just offload him when you want to if he really has a full NMC. You have to beg him first and hope he agrees. Otherwise you are ****ed.

Luckily if there’s one thing we’re good at it’s running players out of town!

 

[dotcommunism]

We are not in cap trouble now. Things will change very quickly when this contract is the benchmark and if actually start winning. We will easily be in a situation that Toronto is in in terms of cap 3-4 years from now. Botts was played by the agent on this one and Ive defended the guy in the past and am a fan of the player.

If $1-1.5M in cap space is the difference between Skinner being here and Skinner walking, you worry about any potential cap concerns 3-4 years from now when they happen, not now. History has shown that teams can work around cap crunches. It's silly to hurt your team in the short term because maybe there could be cap problems years in the future.

 

[Rowley Birkin]

Too much money especially given the 8th year & NMC. Without the NMC or if it was for 5/6 years I really wouldn't have a problem with the dollars since he should be worth it during that time.

Hopefully Botterill & his much vaunted cap skills can perform some trickery down the road assuming he is still in the job by then.

 

[wunderpanda]

Really like this deal. Frontloaded a bit. $10m the first two seasons, then year 3 is gimmicked. 7.5 as a bonus, 2.5 salary the year Dahlin resigns & Risto expires. 10m year 4, then the gimmick in year 5: the summer Okposo expires. The the decline to close it out, 10, 7, 5. Sure he has an NMC but if things go sideways there are built in escapes for Botts replacement. Replacement would even have an evaluation season with him before the year 3 or 5 gimmicks.

Jeff Skinner - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

It may or may not be too much in 2019, it will be a bargain in year 4 as UFA offers rise every summer. Sabres have cap space and nobody worth a huge raise this summer. Marco & Bogo in final years of contracts (and not worth keeping) opens up another $9m next summer for Sam & Montour extensions.

Obvious downside is future planning for a 2C. Not sure chasing a UFA is the best plan if Botts see's Mitts in the role by 20/21 or if Ralph finds a 2C with someone already in the system during camp. If that flops, UFA centres next summer will be more expensive for Botts replacement.

I was indifferent up to $80millions so this is just nice from my perspective.

 

[Sabre Dance]

Why do people even try to predict the last half of a contract? Obviously the Sabres paid more, they're a bad team with little hype heading into next season.

 

[UnleashRasmus]

If $1-1.5M in cap space is the difference between Skinner being here and Skinner walking, you worry about any potential cap concerns 3-4 years from now when they happen, not now. History has shown that teams can work around cap crunches. It's silly to hurt your team in the short term because maybe there could be cap problems years in the future.

You're more worried about the fact that you're on the hook with Okposo for 4 season after next. Bleh. I'm fine with Skinner as long he stays upright!

 

[Rasmus CacOlainen]

Why do people even try to predict the last half of a contract? Obviously the Sabres paid more, they're a bad team with little hype heading into next season.

Cause we have seen plenty of teams give plenty of absurd contracts that come back to haunt them a few years later.

 

[Sabre Dance]

Cause we have seen plenty of teams give plenty of absurd contracts that come back to haunt them a few years later.

These contracts will never stop. Really doesn't matter who you sign, there will be risk.

Later is later. I'm more concerned about the 1st half of the contract. That's why we signed him. Give me a 30 goal average the 1st 4 years and 15 the the last 4, I'll call that a good signing.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

I can see why it took so long, it’s exactly what Skinner’s agent said he wanted mid-season.

 

[TehDoak]

Jeff Skinner Contract Buyout Details - CapFriendly - NHL Salary Caps

A handy link to bookmark

 

[TehDoak]

J botts might be the worlds worst negotiator. First the ror deal now this dumpster fire of a deal.

All of our players agents must be pretty excited once they hit rfa status if they have any sort of leverage

 

[CaptPantalones]

I didnt give 2 craps what it cost, had to get done. Worry about money later. Got him signed, now go get 2 or 3 more forwards and get this thing rolling

 

[Rasmus CacOlainen]

J botts might be the worlds worst negotiator. First the ror deal now this dumpster fire of a deal.

All of our players agents must be pretty excited once they hit rfa status if they have any sort of leverage

The original Skinner deal and the Montour deals were actually quite good. You win some, you lose some.

 

[26CornerBlitz]

 

[MayDay]

Whether this deal is good or bad depends entirely on Skinner’s performance going forward, so it’s too soon to tell.

The cap is going to keep going up, so I’m not so worried about the AAV. If Skinner keeps putting up 40 goals (or even better, if he improves with the team), then it’s well worth it.

OTOH, if his performance falls off a cliff in a couple years like Okposo and Moulson....this will be ugly.

 

[sincerity0]

Too much money especially given the 8th year & NMC. Without the NMC or if it was for 5/6 years I really wouldn't have a problem with the dollars since he should be worth it during that time.

Hopefully Botterill & his much vaunted cap skills can perform some trickery down the road assuming he is still in the job by then.

I’ve seen similar posts to this one - Skinner has had a full NTC since he was first eligible to get one. Why would that change when he hits UFA? 5 or 6 years was NEVER on the table. Ever. The only way Skinner was signing before July 1 was if he was getting the eighth year. Period.

Since NHL congrats are essentially guaranteed, that eighth year adds a lot of additional GTD money that other teams could not have offered without adding about $1.25m AAV to the contract.

Skinner was always getting a full NMC, 8 years and around $9m or he was going to UFA. If Buffalo wasn’t offering the eighth year then they never stood a chance - it was really the only leverage they had.

 

[truthbluth]

Not sure if it’s been said already but...
phew.