Player Discussion Jeff Skinner

[Bendium]

Yeah I know. I had considered that Jeff would be on his wrong side, but what’s he going to do? Score fewer goals?

Actually, playing offwing can be good depending on your role and linemates. I would put Skinner with Jack and Sam. However, on the second line I would have Johanson playing left wing and Olofssen playing on the right (like he does on the powerplay) where his shooting zone is on the inside of the ice. It is better for getting off quick shots from cross ice passes. Let Johansson carry the puck into the zone and work with the center to hold possession on the cycle and set up VO for shots.

 

[jc17]

Skinner has 20 points. The next highest paid player to have 20 or fewer points in Okposo, the lucic. I dont think this is indicative of future performance but what a slump. Completely unacceptable for the contract.

 

[Chainshot]

I think the 2c fetish has reached a fevered pitch in B’lo.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Is there a point here?

The point is, goals per 60 at ES doesn't help much when you play 10 or 11 minutes a game and suck at a lot of other important elements of the game.

 

[BFLO]

Skinners “controller disconnected” “defense” that lead to Ottawa’s first goal is as much a concern as his lack of scoring.

Ovechkin is a hell of a lot better goal scorer than skinner and his team never could get over the hump until he fully committed to playing a 200 ft game.

We have skinner for 7 more years at $9m aav and not only can he not score anymore, but he’s a complete liability defensively because he refuses to put in any effort.

Even if skinner starts putting up 30g a season this team is going nowhere if that’s the kind of effort he’s going to put in defensively.

 

[Doug Prishpreed]

Skinners “controller disconnected” “defense” that lead to Ottawa’s first goal is as much a concern as his lack of scoring.

Ovechkin is a hell of a lot better goal scorer than skinner and his team never could get over the hump until he fully committed to playing a 200 ft game.

We have skinner for 7 more years at $9m aav and not only can he not score anymore, but he’s a complete liability defensively because he refuses to put in any effort.

Even if skinner starts putting up 30g a season this team is going nowhere if that’s the kind of effort he’s going to put in defensively.

Yep, the coach is trying to fix that before it's too late. If it already isn't too late.

Are we allowed to leave him exposed at the expansion draft, or do his contract clauses prevent that?

 

[stokes84]

This set of tweets were some straight fanboy takes. Literally comparing him to three first ballot HOFers and deflecting all blame off of Skinner. Pretty weak.

 

[valet]

This set of tweets were some straight fanboy takes. Literally comparing him to three first ballot HOFers and deflecting all blame off of Skinner. Pretty weak.

WGR has been cringeworthy today with these Skinner takes...

Yep, the coach is trying to fix that before it's too late. If it already isn't too late.

Are we allowed to leave him exposed at the expansion draft, or do his contract clauses prevent that?

He has to be protected. Full NMC.

I think the 2c fetish has reached a fevered pitch in B’lo.

I've been looking at capfriendly ufa's for the past 10 minutes and it's not looking pretty. Our options are:

1.) wait and pray that Cozens can do it next year (extremely unlikely)
2.) wait and pray that Mittelstadt can do it next year (even more unlikely)
3.) overpay in a trade for a placeholder while Cozens comes along
4.) do nothing and let the suffering continue while Cozens comes along

not good

 

[Aladyyn]

Ovechkin is a hell of a lot better goal scorer than skinner and his team never could get over the hump until he fully committed to playing a 200 ft game.

Cute narrative, but couldn't be more wrong. Ovechkin's defense fell off a cliff in 2016 and never seen daylight again.

 

[Snippit]

This set of tweets were some straight fanboy takes. Literally comparing him to three first ballot HOFers and deflecting all blame off of Skinner. Pretty weak.

It’s not unlike what we see on this very board.

 

[Buffaloed]

Jeff is pining for Phil Housley, the Skinner Whisperer

 

[MagnumForce2]

Do you think Skinner will be left unprotected for the expansion draft?

 

[jc17]

Do you think Skinner will be left unprotected for the expansion draft?

His no-movement clause wont allow it

 

[MagnumForce2]

His no-movement clause wont allow it

Thanks...good point

 

[Buffaloed]

His no-movement clause wont allow it

He'll be begging to waive it by then

 

[EichHart]

He will be our buyout after the next CBA goes through.

 

[MagnumForce2]

He'll be begging to waive it by then

Lmao!

 

[TehDoak]

I would have to say, I'm probably the biggest skinner hater out there, but I do believe he'll have SOME productive seasons with us. He could very well be a 35 goal scorer next year.

But to write off this disappearing act as some sort of one off....he's done this his whole career. He'll have a few good years, and just, for whatever reason, his SP% drops below 10 and he puts up awful point totals. In 2014-15, he had 18 goals, 31 pts, and a 7.7% shooting.

If we get cap free buyouts in the next CBA, the Sabres should run, not walk, and get rid of this anchor. It'll probably look better next year if he's more productive, and he'll probably drop like a stone a year or two down the road.

It's even front loaded so a buyout isn't really friendly either. This always was a bad contract. Hopefully we get SOME seasons like last year out of Skinner before he totally bottoms out.

 

[zenthusiast]

Skinner's one of those high-end complementary pieces that distinguish contenders from the pack. Strengthen the rest of the roster and he'll shine again even independent of Eichel.

 

[TehDoak]

Skinner's one of those high-end complementary pieces that distinguish contenders from the pack. Strengthen the rest of the roster and he'll shine again even independent of Eichel.

Let's look at this career playoff numbers to verify this!

Oh. Oh dear. Oh dear me. It seems.....he's never made a team a contender.

I'm sure at the age of 27 he'll turn it all around right?

 

[zenthusiast]

Complementary players don't create contenders... they complement them.

 

[TheDawnOfANewTage]

Skinner's one of those high-end complementary pieces that distinguish contenders from the pack. Strengthen the rest of the roster and he'll shine again even independent of Eichel.

this.

He looks a lot better or a lot worse depending on the pieces around him, he doesn’t drive the play and that shouldn’t get 9 mil but whatever, that’s been done and it doesn’t mean Skinner sucks or isn’t trying- he just really needs a linemate who can open up a lil space for him. Everything has been a bit too solo, a bit too obvious, with Skinner this season. Without Eichel threatening and opening up some space Skinner is often working 1-on-3 instead of 1-on-1, and he’s just not the guy who’ll turn that 1-on-3 into a cycle and scoring chance. He needs one solid top 6 player to get him that time and space- wish he and Mojo worked, but if that doesn’t gel and VO and sam are stapled to eichel what the hell is skinner supposed to do? We’ve put him in the worst position possible given his play style. Obviously Skinner should be doing better, obviously he should be working on some adjustments so he’s more effective as the only skilled player on his line, but if you’re asking him to score or cycle with the likes of ERod and Sheary- that’s tough for anyone, and some bad puck luck and grippin the stick too tight and this is how skinner’s season turns out.

/biased defense of Skinner, because he seems to be working his butt off, puck just isn’t goin in and the organization isn’t helping too much with that.

 

[TehDoak]

Complementary players don't create contenders... they complement them.

Fair point

Counter point: If he's a complementary player, why, for the love of god, are we paying him 9M a year for 8 years and a full NMC?

 

[Archie Lee]

Jeff Skinner in his first 50 games as a Sabre had 30 goals, 44 points and was +15.

In the 82 games he has played since he has 20 goals, 38 points and is -31.

Skinner had a similar season-length stretch of poor #'s in 2014/15 when he played 77 games and went 18 goals, 31 points and -24. He bounced back and averaged 32 goals a year over his next 4 years. He could bounce back and produce good #'s for the next 3-5 years. He will need to or his will be one of the worst contracts in league history.

All considered, his contract is probably the worst in the NHL right now, rivalled maybe by Doughty or Price. I'm not anti-Botterill in any personal sense, but it is quite something to, within a calendar year, be the architect of arguably the worst trade in recent league history and the architect behind the league's worst current player contract.

 

[La Cosa Nostra]

Let's look at this career playoff numbers to verify this!

Oh. Oh dear. Oh dear me. It seems.....he's never made a team a contender.

I'm sure at the age of 27 he'll turn it all around right?

This has to be the most weird position to take. One player, a winger at that can take a team to the playoffs? The best goal scorer of the 00s aside from Ovy, Ilya Kovalchuk had 1 playoffs (where he got swept) his first 7 seasons. Connor McDavid, a future HoFer, 1 playoff apperance his first 4 years. 0 for Eichel. Taylor Hall, 1 appearance and hes pushing 30.

Skinner is having a bad season period. But he is 27. He will rebound. He is still an elite skater which is usually the most direct cause for a player to regress. I am not worried. He will still score 200+ goals over the life of the contract.

If Botts let Skinner walk last summer everyone would have blasted that idea. Botts and hopefully Kruger will be gone and the new coach and GM will give Skinner better linemates then a 30 point RWer and a career 40 point winger turned center. Is it that surprising that a high end 5v5 goal scorer who was always invisible on the PP struggles when his linemates are garbage?

Guarantee Sam would struggle to hit 50 points playing with Johansson and Sheary, Vesey or whatever shit winger is cycled in there.