Buffalo Sabers buy out final three years of forward Jeff Skinner’s 8-year, $72 million contract

The Buffalo Sabers officially let go of Jeff Skinner, the highest-paid forward on the team’s roster, by buying out the final three years of the veteran’s contract on Sunday.

The move comes a day after general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters at the NHL draft in Las Vegas that he had begun the process of obtaining a buyout. And it’s another example of how the Sabres have mismanaged their roster during what has become an NHL-record 13-year playoff drought.

Skinner, 32, becomes the third player to have his contract bought out by Buffalo during that span, joining Ville Leino and Christian Ehrhoff.

The buyout comes as the Sabres are once again in transition, with Lindy Ruff returning as coach for a second stint, this time to replace Don Granato, who was fired after Buffalo failed to finish 12th in the Eastern Conference.

The move also signaled Adams’ inability to find a trade partner, while being handcuffed by Skinner having the right to refuse a deal due to the no-movement clause in his contract.

This marks the end of Skinner’s six-year stint in Buffalo, where his production was inconsistent from season to season and he was often hit for defensive mistakes. Acquired in a trade from Carolina in the summer of 2018, Skinner scored a career-high 40 goals in his first season in Buffalo, prompting the team to sign him to an eight-year, $72 million contract.

For Buffalo, the move frees up $7.55 million in salary cap space next season, although the Sabres will now have to pay two-thirds of the remaining $22 million owed to Skinner, spread over the next six seasons.

For Skinner, the 14-year veteran immediately becomes a free agent as he continues to pursue what has been an elusive opportunity to compete in the playoffs.

Including his first eight seasons in Carolina, Skinner’s 1,006 NHL games are the most of any player not to have been a member of a playoff-qualified team.

Skinner underachieved last season. Although he finished with 24 goals (the ninth time he has scored that many), he had just 46 points and struggled to find a regular spot in the lineup. That’s still down from Skinner’s career-best 35 goals and 82 points the previous season.

“There are a lot of variables that come into play,” Skinner said during an end-of-season session with reporters in April, while maintaining that he intends to focus on those variables this summer.

“I try to help the team win, no matter what my role is,” he added. “I think I’ve been around long enough to be able to evaluate my own game and change it when I’m not happy with it.”

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