Buffalo Sabres considering massive Jeff Skinner buyout

Two credible sources are reporting that the Buffalo Sabres are on the verge of buying out the massive contract of Jeff Skinner, which would cost the team millions

Huge news coming from two very credible sources today on a potential buy out of a massive NHL contract. The player in question in Jeff Skinner of the Buffalo Sabres.

According to Jeff Marek and Elliotte Friedman, Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams is seriously considering terminating Skinner's contract, and the decision could come as early as this afternoon.






Skinner has three more seasons remaining on his current deal, which carries a cap hit of $9 million annually. It was an eight-year deal initially signed with Buffalo back in 2019. Skinner has never lived up to the money he's been making since signing that contract. He had somewhat of a turnaround in 2022-23 when he scored 35 goals and 82 points. However, he had a considerable drop in production again this past season, getting 46 points.




According to Capfriendly's buy out calculator, , walking away from Skinner would cost the Sabres just under $20 million, and there would be a cap hit for the team until after the 2029-30 NHL season. Keeping him would cost the Sabres around $22 million over the next three years in salary, but the cap hit would be much larger than buying him out.



Skinner was initially drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes 7th overall in 2010. He was traded to Buffalo in 2018 in exchange for Cliff Pu, a second-round selection in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, a third-Round pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft, and a sixth-round pick the same draft. Before coming to the Sabres, Skinner looked like a safe bet to become a very good player in the NHL, but the $9 million deal was definitely a mistake on the Sabres' part.