tbh it really isnt.

It’s the worst contract in the league for sure, but the good news is Sabres aren’t likely to be a cap team for the next few years.

Keep Skinner - "One Albatross-in-the-Hand is Better than Two-in-the-Bush" ^ ^

No way BUF ever makes that deal

The only time Skinners contract will start becoming a huge problem is once he becomes a liability on the ice and he isn’t even close to one yet.

The thing about the Skinner contract in how bad some are vs others is he is only 28 and he still has the skill to be a solid 30+ goal scorer (With Eichel or another good center) it's sucks that we now have 2 contract where and Elite center created a player who without them became irrelevant Tavares - Okposo, Eichel - Skinner. Anyway he could still do damage and if used in the right system he will gain value again but he is never going to be worth 9m and he wasn't ever worth 9m.

Not bad enough to care, Sabres dont want to move him currently

It’s really bad. But the Sabres won’t be affected by it for a while. Might as well play him and hope for a bounce back. It’s not like the Sabres have someone to play over him right now. Ride it out for a few years and hope he can get an undisclosed injury 4-5 years from now and put him on LTIR when the Sabres actually need the cap space.

Future Hall of Famers aren't for unloading $ ✔

However yeah definitely quite hefty

Coincidentally I made an AGM today where I tried to unload him and settled on either one of Cozens and Quinn who I think both will become at best ironically

Jeff Skinner level players lol

I’m confused. Who is the future hall of famed?

It's perpetually a problem though at this point 😐

It's a decently sized black cloud over the franchise

It's holding them back greatly from any notion of competing in a tough cap world: they need to figure out a solution asap or Eichel/Dahlin era is a wash

Two likely Hall of Famers is a special thing indeed

9M$ for an aging third liner can & will neutralize that

Yeah there's zero chance of Adams using Dahlin to move Skinner's contract. Dahlin is far too valuable to get rid of Skinner's contract. Yzerman would take that and run but Adams would massively decline.

They have one more bullet put him back with Jack for an extended stay. He already plays good with 4th liners too, him and Eakin had one of their best games on Wednesday playing with each other. Plus he likes Buffalo and has a NMC he’s not going anywhere.

Skinner has probably the worst contract in the league. He will most likely be bought out in the off season. And with the way that Dahlin has played this season, definitely not enough to move that contract. While Dahlin has a higher potential, he alone will not be enough to move Skinner. It was the Sabres fault for signing him to a big deal with a lot of term, but if you look at all his seasons, the seasons he plays the best in are contract years. The 40 goal season was in a contract year. It’s unfortunate but the only way to get out of that contract is for Skinner to be bought out. The Sabres have to pick the best of two very bad options.

They should buyout over moving Dahlin tbh

There’s lots of questions in order to give a fair assessment. These are the first that need answered to determine who would say no.

First, why is Buffalo trying to unload cap? How does this effect Eichel?

Is Dahlin willing to sign a long term deal with Detroit or is going UFA ASAP?

If Eichel wants out because your shipping out Dahlin, then why bother? If Dahlin is going to bounce from Detroit why would Detroit want to take on an albatross contract which is longer than team control over Dahlin?

As a Wings fan I'd take that deal in a heartbeat but I have to agree with most of the Sabers fans it isn't necessary, Did any Buffalo players live up to expectations this season? Coming in to the season I was sure Buffalo was a playoff team.

To answer your question. Dahlin is way more than enough to have a team take Skinner. Skinner is still a good player and is creating scoring chances. Its an overpaid contract by about 2-3 mil but he isn't a potato like some players on lesser AAV contracts like Eriksson

Skinner could still give you 20-25 goals but he hasn't the oppurtunity to do so. Put him together with Eichel and he could probably be a 40 point guy that avarages around 25 goals. Buffalo would never do it tho. Dahlin is the most hyped U-22 defenser that you can find out there. He is the real deal of all 2000s born defensemen

I still have a feeling that Skinner can be an effective player in Buffalo. Jeff Skinner scored 40 goals literally only 2 seasons ago, yes his contract was an overpay, now and at the time, but put simply, he did not deserve the fate he was given. In that season he scored 40, it was almost all at even strength, only 8 goals on the power play. He played with Eichel and Reinhart and that line was awesome. The next year, Ralph Kreuger comes in and his first act of business is to break up that line and put Victor Olofsson up there, a player who is nothing more than a power play specialist. Skinner toiled away off that line playing mostly with players like Marcus Johansson, Evan Rodrigues, Vladimir Sobotka and Connor Sheary. This year it was even worse as the Buffalo Sabres allowed a soccer guy to take their 9 million dollar complimentary scorer and place him on the 4th line. Jeff Skinner is a top line player because he has to be, its the only way hes successful and he was pretty damn successful when put in that role. Do not move off of Jeff Skinners contract because its only gonna make things worse for the organization based off what they'd need to give up JUST to unload him. Play him back with Jack and Sam once again, the line that he scored 40 goals, and see how it goes. Its much better to go back to something that works than throwaway a franchise caliber defensive talent for "cap reasons"

It shouldnt be as surprise that Skinner failed once taken off that line, he is a complimentary scorer who needs elite talent to be maximized. Maximize him then because youve already paid him his cash you have nothing to lose

Hes a buyout candidate in a few years. Figure every year he plays shaves 2 off of the buyout. Honestly, i cant even guess what he would get today, but 6.5 for 7 years was probably the most he was gonna get after his 40 goal season, which means even trying to retain salary to move him doesnt work.

Skinner's contract is pretty bad now. The last 2-3 seasons of it will probably be straight horrible. Dahlin's positive value and upside are more than enough to offset Skinner's contract though, in my opinion.
As far as worst contract in the league, I'd say Erik Karlsson and Matt Duchene could contend for that. At least Skinner seems to be able to produce under the right circumstances.