Their defacto 2nd line has a bigger negative impact than Eichel has a positive one during his bajillion game point streak.
- Sabresfan-365

IM not burying him at all.

This is partially JB and Ralphies fault.

They are playing Skinner with Scrubs.

JB needs to get in another top 6 center to help Skinner.
Ralphie needs to get Skinner more time with Eichel.

As I will continue to say, 9mm for 40, nothing good can come from that.
- ImThatGuy

Imagine blaming someone for not having enough money to buy a bigger house.

Many agreed, and yes he is probably overpaid.

The Sabres were in a no win situation.

The way Skinner was playing letting him walk was career suicide for JB in Buffalo.
Fans would have roasted him and this team for never signing good players.
- ImThatGuy

Letting him walk wasn’t an option. Period. That’s why talking about his contract is just nauseating.

If anyone read the DBTB article today, Skinner has still had a largely impactful season, and using a 5-10 game sample as some sort of predictable barometer of an 8 year contract is flawed.

The goals will come again, and if this team gets a legit center, he’s a caliber winger to start to really have a great second line.

Time for the GM to step up or get out

Imagine blaming someone for not having enough money to buy a bigger house.
- TheSabresTaco

Here's a 3rd line winger, a 4th line center and the fast kid from Mighty Ducks. Pick a 2C

Can anyone say objectively that Erod will get a new contract with this team, and will it exceed 2M

There are more people on here more worried about proving other people wrong than ACTUALLY caring if this team wins or loses, though, I am convinced of that.

The guy is 35 games into his big contract, playing with either scrubs or another guy (Mojo) that's struggling right now.

Me? I'm not ready to bury him like some others are. He'll bounce back.
- Powerslave

I was the tank commander last year because I felt us not overspending in assets to acquire a player and bottoming out for Cozens would help us WIN long term.

Eichel is on a 17 game point streak right now and we have won 7 of those games. Him playing at an MVP level is hardly moving the needle.

How much of the needle is out $72M asset moving ? What is Skinner worth this year ? Possibly we don’t win two of the games we’ve already won this year without him.

You know what is killing us though ? Lack of depth. Swap out Skinners $9M with Dzingel, Haula, and Donskoi and we have more “depth”.

Honestly the premise is the same, swap Dzingel, Haula, and Donskoi with any 3 names of players EARNING their salaries ( before people throw Sheary’s name in there) and this team is better for it.

A ghost has a similar impact as Jeff Skinner on our PP and PK units, also Jeff has nothing to do with the top lines performance.

Teams win, not individual players. We have a better team if we maximize our cap space and bring in players with a high return on investment (Reinhart and Olofsson on their current deals, Dahlin, Joker, Montour)

Letting him walk wasn’t an option. Period. That’s why talking about his contract is just nauseating.

If anyone read the DBTB article today, Skinner has still had a largely impactful season, and using a 5-10 game sample as some sort of predictable barometer of an 8 year contract is flawed.

The goals will come again, and if this team gets a legit center, he’s a caliber winger to start to really have a great second line.

Time for the GM to step up or get out
- sbroads24

Agreed. JB needs to get a center in here but from what has been said he wants to keep all his toys.

Darcy 2.0

Can anyone say objectively that Erod will get a new contract with this team, and will it exceed 2M
- TheSabresTaco

Erod will get a new contract with this team, and it will exceed 2M.

Oh, you said "objectively". My bad.

Imagine blaming someone for not having enough money to buy a bigger house.
- TheSabresTaco

The what 15 game stretch where VO was absolutely abysmal.
Skinner should have been put there to help score in that stretch.

Yes the coach can share some of the blame too.

Letting him walk wasn’t an option. Period. That’s why talking about his contract is just nauseating.

If anyone read the DBTB article today, Skinner has still had a largely impactful season, and using a 5-10 game sample as some sort of predictable barometer of an 8 year contract is flawed.

The goals will come again, and if this team gets a legit center, he’s a caliber winger to start to really have a great second line.

Time for the GM to step up or get out
- sbroads24

Both statements can be correct at the same time. Legit center or not, he needs to be on the scoresheet more. He still has zero business playing with Larsson.

Agreed. JB needs to get a center in here but from what has been said he wants to keep all his toys.

Darcy 2.0
- ImThatGuy

Wasting the best offensive performance by a Sabre in nearly 30 years

Letting him walk wasn’t an option. Period. That’s why talking about his contract is just nauseating.

If anyone read the DBTB article today, Skinner has still had a largely impactful season, and using a 5-10 game sample as some sort of predictable barometer of an 8 year contract is flawed.

The goals will come again, and if this team gets a legit center, he’s a caliber winger to start to really have a great second line.

Time for the GM to step up or get out
- sbroads24

I think he's using a new stick. And he shouldn't be.

Athanasiou has a -33.

Again, not everything, but it's the worst in the league, and Risto had a -40 over 82 games. We're not even half way through the season.

And yes, Detroit is becoming historically awful ala 14-15 Sabres. They take 4/5 of the worst +/- ratings in the league.

Brent Burns is third last with -23. Now THAT is impressive.

Both statements can be correct at the same time. Legit center or not, he needs to be on the scoresheet more. He still has zero business playing with Larsson.
- buffalofan19

COrrect.

For his contract he shouldn't necessarily need and elite level player (Like Eichel) to put up 60 points.

He also has no buisness playing with Erod.

With all of that said. I believe his best years in Carolina were with Viktor Rask.
He got moved off of the top line with Staal because they could never mesh.

Wasting the best offensive performance by a Sabre in nearly 30 years
- jcragcrumple

But they got all of that Defense.
and that with titles.

or soemthing

The what 15 game stretch where VO was absolutely abysmal.
Skinner should have been put there to help score in that stretch.

Yes the coach can share some of the blame too.
- ImThatGuy

He can take some blame. But you can't just jam every scoring threat on the team with Eichel and then like, hey, (frank) you, the rest of these rejects can't score so let's just jam up this line to a nice 4-1 victory. Just not how it works.

To get jeff going, yeah, put him and Olofsson on line one and drop Reinhart. Try something new.

But it's not like Ralph can create an actual NHL center.

I was the tank commander last year because I felt us not overspending in assets to acquire a player and bottoming out for Cozens would help us WIN long term.

Eichel is on a 17 game point streak right now and we have won 7 of those games. Him playing at an MVP level is hardly moving the needle.

How much of the needle is out $72M asset moving ? What is Skinner worth this year ? Possibly we don’t win two of the games we’ve already won this year without him.

You know what is killing us though ? Lack of depth. Swap out Skinners $9M with Dzingel, Haula, and Donskoi and we have more “depth”.

Honestly the premise is the same, swap Dzingel, Haula, and Donskoi with any 3 names of players EARNING their salaries ( before people throw Sheary’s name in there) and this team is better for it.

A ghost has a similar impact as Jeff Skinner on our PP and PK units, also Jeff has nothing to do with the top lines performance.

Teams win, not individual players. We have a better team if we maximize our cap space and bring in players with a high return on investment (Reinhart and Olofsson on their current deals, Dahlin, Joker, Montour)
- Pegullaville

Replace Cozens with top10 pick this year
How’s it any different ?

COrrect.

For his contract he shouldn't necessarily need and elite level player (Like Eichel) to put up 60 points.

He also has no buisness playing with Erod.

With all of that said. I believe his best years in Carolina were with Viktor Rask.
He got moved off of the top line with Staal because they could never mesh.
- ImThatGuy

He doesn't. But he needs a guy that belongs in the middle 6 next to him to produce actual results.

You'd think we were in last (frank)ing place.

You'd think we were in last (frank)ing place.
- Powerslave

Because we are having a debate on whether to expect more out of Skinner?

He doesn't. But he needs a guy that belongs in the middle 6 next to him to produce actual results.
- TheSabresTaco

Correct, which i said.

Skinner is a weird case. his analytics are Elite. He has never had an elite season in terms of production.

Here is what I will ask all of you. If this is the production Skinner nets for the life of the contract. Are we happy?
- ImThatGuy

Since when? Since he's been on the Sabres, yes. In the last 8 games, no.

Because we are having a debate on whether to expect more out of Skinner?
- ImThatGuy

He's played like sh!t for 20 games. Some of you guys act like he's an albatross around this team's neck. I'm not licking the guy's sac, but he'll bounce back.

Everyone and their grandmother expects more out of Skinner.

There's no debate.

There are factors as to why he's struggling to debate, sure.

Since when? Since he's been on the Sabres, yes. In the last 8 games, no.
- RhinoFan

But but but but

He's played like sh!t for 20 games. Some of you guys act like he's an albatross around this team's neck. I'm not licking the guy's sac, but he'll bounce back.

Everyone and their grandmother expects more out of Skinner.

There's no debate.

There are factors as to why he's struggling to debate, sure.
- Powerslave

There are still only a few that have a problem with his contract at this point. Tuesday was a day that Skinner needed to put at least something on the board, though. That's what he gets paid for.