An off-season of change continues in Carolina. In a bit of a stunner, the Carolina Hurricanes have traded one of their best forwards in Jeff Skinner to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Cliff Pu, a second-round pick in 2019, a third-round pick in 2020 and a sixth-round pick in 2020. Skinner had been in trade rumours leading up to the deadline, but things really picked up in the off-season, as new owner Tom Dundon is remaking the Hurricanes franchise.
OFFICIAL TRADE: We've acquired Jeff Skinner from Carolina for forward Cliff Pu, a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft. pic.twitter.com/cFZswscWLS
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) August 2, 2018
Jeff Skinner Traded Buffalo Sabres
Skinner has been one of the league’s more underrated players for a long time. He put up 24 goals and 25 assists for 49 points in 82 games. He also added 34 minutes in penalties. Skinner’s possession numbers were 55.8 percent Corsi and a relative Corsi of +1.6.
He was coming off an outstanding season in 2016-17 where he set a career high in goals with 37 and tied his career high in points with 63. Skinner also hit 63 points in his rookie season when he had 31 goals. Skinner is a three-time 30 goal scorer in this league and will immediately make his new team better.
Skinner has been in the league since 2010-2011 and has consistently put up goals and points each season with the Hurricanes. The team can plug him in on either one of the top two lines and it will pay huge dividends for them.
Despite never being in a playoff game, it’s hard to imagine Skinner would not make an impact for his new team. Improving the club to win now is one of the biggest reasons why they traded for him. A team needs big goals during playoff games and he has the ability to be a game-breaker. It also makes them a much deeper team on the wings. Skinner is versatile, and has played some centre in the past, but not as much lately.
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