Skinner’s Contract Expiring, Sabres Negotiating an Extension
While the Sabres’ have been struggling lately, we can still praise the performance of winger Jeff Skinner who has been on Sabres’ top line alongside fellow teammate Jack Eichel. Skinner’s been playing to the best of his ability and scoring goals. At present, his ranking in the National Hockey League is second, having successfully scored 30 goals. The 26-year-old’s ranking in the Sabres is also second with 44 points in that span.
While the Sabres have to worry about their current position in the rankings, they will have more to worry about come July 1. Skinner’s contract is expiring on that date and once it does, he’ll be considered a free agent. There have been reports that the Sabres’ general manager Jason Botterill is engaged in talks with Skinner’s representatives in order to arrange a contract extension before the deadline passes and he becomes a free agent.
Even so, there’s still a very real possibility that Skinner may not agree to stay with the Sabres and if they continue their poor performance, there’s a chance that he might be moved prior to the trade deadline set by the NHL on February 25. This would, of course, attract the attention of all the other teams in the league as Skinner is considered a highly skilled player. All the teams would definitely be interested in acquiring his talents, though it should also be considered that they might not be able to afford his contract.
In the event that the Sabres are able to improve their current rankings and performance, it seems very likely that general manager Botterill will begin looking for ways to boost the roster in order to further support the push toward the playoffs. At the moment, there are many different areas that Botterill could focus on in order to support the team as the Sabres are in need of extra help. Among the different additions they could consider are including another line center or possibly some secondary scoring. It would also serve their team well to recruit some additional help on the blue line.