What will the Buffalo Sabres do with Jeff Skinner this offseason?

Jeff Skinner and the Buffalo Sabres are at a critical point as free agency approaches? Can they find a common ground for an extension, or will Skinner walk for nothing?

After yet another unsuccessful season, the Buffalo Sabres find themselves at a crossroad heading into what is perhaps their most important offseason of this decade. On the verge of playoff contention for the first time after a hot start to the season, the Sabres collapsed and missed the playoffs once again, and the organization along with it’s fans are more frustrated than ever with the Sabres lack of progress.

The main event of the Sabres offseason is newly acquired winger Jeff Skinner, and finding a way to either keep him around and extend him long term or find a way to replace him is at the forefront of all the Sabres concerns after building

In an interview with TSN‘s Darren Dreger, newly appointed head coach for the Sabres Ralph Kruger says that the organization will meet with Skinner and his camp over the next few days to discuss a new contract with the team.

“Quite clearly, those conversations are important and they are going to happen here in the next few days,” Krueger said.  “It’s important for us to see the value in Jeff, what he’s done and how he embraced being in Buffalo and became a friend to the players on the team.

NHL Insider Bob McKenzie went on NBCSN to report that negotiations between the two sides ramped up during the NHL Scouting Combine in Buffalo and there’s hope that a deal will get done before Skinner becomes an unrestricted free agent July 1.

“Ralph Krueger, the new head coach of Buffalo, has spent some time with Skinner, extolling the virtues of his program and what they think it’s going to be,” McKenzie said on NBCSN. “Buffalo certainly wants him back and Skinner would like to come back, but they just have to [iron out the details] to the point where both sides are happy. It’s very close, but it’s not done, and until it’s done, it’s not done.”

Skinner set a career high with 40 goals this season, and matched a career high with 63 points in 82 games. He was acquired by the Sabres after a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes last offseason, and proved to be a natural fit with the team, scoring ten goals in the Sabres ten game win streak, but fell off towards the end of the season with one goal in 22 games.

Skinner made $5,725,000 against the cap on his previous six-year contract. The constant rumor surrounding Jeff Skinner is that he and his camp his will demand an eight year deal worth around $9,000,000 a year, basically on the verge of superstar money.

“For quite some time now, I’ve been saying that I think the sweet spot for a number is an eight-year deal somewhere between $8.5 million per-year and $9.5 million per-year,” McKenzie continued. “Obviously Skinner would like to get on the high side of that. He wants to try to get a deal in the $9 million range. The Sabres would like the deal to try and be in the $8 million range. We’ll see if they can come up with a number that works for both of them.”

According to Capfriendly, the Sabres will have a projected $29,415,476 in cap space this offseason, but that’s because a lot of their cheaper and younger players like Sam Reinhart, Rasmus Dahlin, Casey Mittelstadt, and Brendan Montour will all need raises either next offseason or the following one once their contracts expire.

The Sabres can afford to give Skinner a considerable raise without crippling their salary structure, but they need to consider whether or not he would be worth tying up all the cap space in. Yes, Skinner is the best goal scorer on the team by a wide margin, but he’s not a superstar player in the league. His inconsistency needs to be noted, and it’s not a sure thing that Skinner will hit 40 goals ever again.

Skinner is 27 years old and is well past developing. This is what he is going to be for the rest of his career. 63 points might be the best the Sabres get over the course of what could be an eight year contract.

But then again, Skinner was a great fit on the wing of Jack Eichel, and building more chemistry between those two could be the start of one of the deadliest lines in hockey. If he can follow up last season by at least almost reaching 40 goals and surpassing 60 points again, the Sabres will be getting their money’s worth.

Skinner is going to get paid no less than $8M a year, but it’s up to him to prove that he’s worth it regardless of who he signs with. Signing between $8M and $9M will give him a contract comparable to the likes of Steven Stamkos and Leon Draisaitl, and that’s a lot to live up to for a guy who’s never hit 70 points in his career.

Regardless of nitpicking the numbers on the cap hit, hopefully this offseason can be the beginning of the end of the Sabres almost decade long rebuild. Buffalo is a phenomenal hockey town, and they are well overdue to be treated to a great team that could hopefully one day bring them their first Stanley Cup.