Buffalo Sabres trade grade: Sabres rob Carolina Hurricanes of Jeff Skinner
The Buffalo Sabres acquired Jeff Skinner from the Carolina Hurricanes. Here’s why the Sabres won the trade in a landslide.
Late on Thursday night, the Buffalo Sabres made an unexpected addition to their roster. Desperately needing a left wing, the Sabres traded for Carolina Hurricanes forward Jeff Skinner. He has one year remaining on his deal, which makes it an even more interesting trade from Buffalo’s perspective.
It remains to be seen precisely what they will do with Skinner. Do the Sabres intend on extending the 26-year-old forward? Or are they thinking outside the box, potentially looking to increase his value a bit and then trade him for a larger haul in February? Either option makes sense, though the former is more likely.
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With few exceptions, nothing good in life is free. The Sabres gave up Cliff Pu (one of their top 10 prospects), a 2019 second-round pick, a 2020 third-round pick, and a 2020 sixth-round pick. Getting Skinner without forfeiting any roster players or any of their three 2019 first-round picks is highway robbery.
Pu is a very promising prospect, but will likely max out as a third-line wing. His stats in junior hockey have been solid, but not overwhelming, especially given his age. The Sabres have been rebuilding for long enough, so it’s easy to see why they would be willing to part with a second-round pick, a third-round pick, and a sixth-round pick. Especially when the last two aren’t even until 2020.
Now, why would a rebuilding team want to extend Skinner? First of all, he’s quietly been one of the league’s better scorers. Since joining the league in 2012-13, Skinner’s 153 goals rank 17th in the NHL among forwards. Even in a down year, he put up 24 goals. By comparison, the Sabres leading scorer among left wings (Evander Kane) scored 20 despite being traded at the trade deadline.
At some point during a rebuild, you have to surround your centers with talented wings. Skinner will be the best wing star center Jack Eichel has ever played with in Buffalo. Likewise, Eichel will be, by a wide margin, the best center Skinner has played with in recent years.
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Trade Grade: A+. It’s hard to see this trade ending badly for the Sabres, no matter what their logic is in making the trade.