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Jeff Skinner Signs Long-Term With Buffalo Sabres

Jeff Skinner

The wait is finally over. The Buffalo Sabres signed a long term deal with forward Jeff Skinner. The two sides agreed on an 8-year contract worth $72M. It will pay him $9 million per season, second behind teammate Jack Eichel.

Jeff Skinner Signs With Sabres

Over his nine-year NHL career, Skinner has played for the Carolina Hurricanes and Buffalo Sabres. He has put up 244 goals and 198 assists for 442 career points in 661 career games. He was originally drafted in the 1st round, 7th overall of the 2010 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes.

Last season he scored 40 goals and 23 assists for 63 points. He also added 36 minutes in penalties. His possession numbers were 52.4 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of 3.7.

His totals this year tied his career high, tying his rookie season (2010-11) in which he had 31 goals and 32 assists for 63 points over 82 games as an 18-year-old.

What This Means for the Future

The Sabres get a proven top-six scoring winger coming off a strong year for them. The former Calder trophy winner brings a near-perfect combination of experience and youth, having played 650+ NHL games while still being in his prime at age 26. He’s a great skater, adding speed to any combination of players he’s with. He finds open areas for himself and makes him an easy target for slam dunk passes, contributing to his high goal totals. While skilled, Skinner is not exactly what comes to mind when you think of a playmaker.

Unfortunately, Skinner has already had some concussion issues that have the potential to derail his career if re-aggravated. This is definitely one gamble the Sabres are willing to take. On the upside, he is still young and the team is getting a high-caliber player in his prime. Even if he can’t keep turning out his 40-goal performance from year to year, Skinner can be counted on for at least 25-30 goals per year for the foreseeable future.

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Josh Erickson

Josh Erickson

Josh is a Minneapolis-based journalist and editor covering anything and everything NHL with a soft spot for the Leafs. He's one-third of the Throwing Haymakers Podcast and is a new face in the world of advanced analytics. He's been with Last Word on Sports since March of 2019. You can reach him on Twitter at @JoshLwoh, or by email at [email protected]

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