Confirmed Signing with Link: [BUF] Jeff Skinner signs extension (8 years, $9M AAV)

[skyo]

Sabres management after seeing Eberle's new 5 yr $5.5M AAV deal:

Maybe we jumped the gun a tad on Skinner.

 

[John Eichel da GOAT]

Sabres management after seeing Eberle's new 5 yr $5.5M AAV deal:

Maybe we jumped the gun a tad on Skinner.

Skinner is more consistent than Eberle, but yeah money wise, this shows Skinner should have gotten $7M per.

 

[CasusBelli]

I need his agent to negotiate my annual bonus. To quote the great John McEnroe: “Are you serious?!”

 

[tsujimoto74]

Sabres management after seeing Eberle's new 5 yr $5.5M AAV deal:

Maybe we jumped the gun a tad on Skinner.

Probably not tho. (1) Skinner had more goals last year than Eberle had points; (2) Buffalo would have a hell of a time trying to replace those 40 goals on the UFA market --- there are only a couple guys hitting UFA with that kind of scoring capability, and at least 1 of them (Panarin) would require an absurd overpayment (like $11-12M+) to even put the Sabres in consideration. And that's just to try to replace Skinner, without even touching trying to make the team better.

 

[Samsonite23]

I've noticed a lot of people bringing up cap percentage as an explanation for why Skinner is not overpaid here. I don't really buy that argument.

Assuming the salary cap is $83M next season, Skinner at $9M will be making 10.84% of the salary cap.

Over the past 5 seasons, Jeff Skinner has averaged 29 goals and 49 points per season. Over that same time frame, forwards within +/- $0.5M of 10.84% of the salary cap have averaged 25 goals and 65 points per season.

I've seen a lot of people bringing up goals above replacement. Skinner does average 10.84 GAR per Evolving-Hockey's model, and 8.126 GAR per Corsica's model. The average forward averages 9.6 GAR per Evolving-Hockey and 9.2 per Corsica, and the average player at any position averages 10.1 GAR per Evolving-Hockey and 8.3 per Corsica. When it comes to goals above replacement, Skinner averaging 9.5 GAR per season over both models is better than the average forward in that cap range averaging 9.4 GAR, or the average player at any position averaging 9.2 GAR. So, if you dogmatically refer to GAR, as I've seen some posters in these threads do, then Skinner is fairly paid.

I think the question is: why do GAR models flatter Skinner so heavily? He isn't exactly a great player in the defensive zone. I recognize that over large sample sizes, GAR tends to flatter the players who actually are excellent players, but I do think that there are some outliers, and I do think that

For reference, here is every player from the past 5 seasons who made within +/- $0.5M of 10.84% of the salary cap:

Spoiler

Season	Player	GAR (Evolving-Hockey)	GAR (Corsica.Hockey)	GAR (Average)
2018-2019	PK Subban	-0.70	0.68	-0.01
2018-2019	Sidney Crosby	24.90	11.07	17.99
2018-2019	Corey Perry	-3.40	0.86	-1.27
2018-2019	Henrik Lundqvist	12.30	5.94	9.12
2018-2019	Leon Draisaitl	18.10	29.25	23.68
2018-2019	Steven Stamkos	19.40	28.61	24.01
2018-2019	AVERAGE	11.77	12.74	12.25
2018-2019	FORWARD AVERAGE	14.75	17.45	16.10
2018-2019	JEFF SKINNER	17.60	14.62	16.11
2017-2018	Corey Perry	1.80	-0.81	0.50
2017-2018	Henrik Lundqvist	20.30	6.75	13.53
2017-2018	Leon Draisaitl	10.70	5.31	8.01
2017-2018	Steven Stamkos	18.00	12.02	15.01
2017-2018	Claude Giroux	24.40	22.32	23.36
2017-2018	Ryan Getzlaf	11.10	3.69	7.40
2017-2018	Phil Kessel	9.60	5.35	7.48
2017-2018	Ryan Johansen	1.60	2.75	2.18
2017-2018	Joe Thornton	4.40	3.42	3.91
2017-2018	Brent Burns	-3.30	4.09	0.40
2017-2018	Victor Hedman	12.90	1.40	7.15
2017-2018	Shea Weber	-2.40	1.49	-0.46
2017-2018	Rick Nash	4.50	11.88	8.19
2017-2018	Evgeny Kuznetsov	9.10	10.44	9.77
2017-2018	AVERAGE	8.76	6.44	7.60
2017-2018	FORWARD AVERAGE	9.52	7.64	8.58
2017-2018	JEFF SKINNER	5.40	9.31	7.36
2016-2017	Claude Giroux	4.90	6.39	5.65
2016-2017	Jakub Voracek	1.40	8.10	4.75
2016-2017	Ryan Getzlaf	11.60	8.01	9.81
2016-2017	Phil Kessel	6.30	2.88	4.59
2016-2017	Shea Weber	6.20	6.80	6.50
2016-2017	Rick Nash	2.50	4.91	3.71
2016-2017	Dustin Byfuglien	4.90	1.89	3.40
2016-2017	Zach Parise	5.30	-0.54	2.38
2016-2017	Ryan Suter	17.40	10.89	14.15
2016-2017	Ryan O'Reilly	12.20	8.82	10.51
2016-2017	Vladimir Tarasenko	13.70	22.28	17.99
2016-2017	Pavel Datsyuk
2016-2017	Jason Spezza	7.20	0.58	3.89
2016-2017	Sergei Bobrovsky	58.90	44.73	51.82
2016-2017	AVERAGE	11.73	9.67	10.70
2016-2017	FORWARD AVERAGE	7.23	6.83	7.03
2016-2017	JEFF SKINNER	16.10	9.95	13.03
2015-2016	Claude Giroux	4.60	2.61	3.61
2015-2016	Ryan Getzlaf	9.50	13.14	11.32
2015-2016	Eric Staal	3.50	7.70	5.60
2015-2016	Phil Kessel	10.80	1.04	5.92
2015-2016	Shea Weber	10.00	12.24	11.12
2015-2016	Rick Nash	2.90	2.48	2.69
2015-2016	Zach Parise	-0.20	3.15	1.48
2015-2016	Ryan Suter	15.70	5.22	10.46
2015-2016	Vladimir Tarasenko	12.20	24.66	18.43
2015-2016	Pavel Datsyuk	13.10	12.29	12.70
2015-2016	Jason Spezza	6.40	21.55	13.98
2015-2016	Steven Stamkos	9.30	15.08	12.19
2015-2016	Sergei Bobrovsky	2.90	-3.33	-0.22
2015-2016	Bobby Ryan	7.90	-0.27	3.82
2015-2016	David Krejci	11.20	0.99	6.10
2015-2016	Kris Letang	9.20	9.09	9.15
2015-2016	AVERAGE	8.06	7.98	8.02
2015-2016	FORWARD AVERAGE	7.60	8.70	8.15
2015-2016	JEFF SKINNER	12.60	3.69	8.10
2014-2015	Phil Kessel	-4.20	-2.11	-3.16
2014-2015	Shea Weber	9.00	2.07	5.54
2014-2015	Rick Nash	11.00	12.02	11.51
2014-2015	Zach Parise	10.70	4.73	7.72
2014-2015	Ryan Suter	6.10	4.05	5.08
2014-2015	Steven Stamkos	12.10	11.47	11.79
2014-2015	Pavel Datsyuk	15.90	8.96	12.43
2014-2015	Kris Letang	9.00	5.08	7.04
2014-2015	Brian Campbell	6.10	2.34	4.22
2014-2015	Tuukka Rask	30.70	7.65	19.18
2014-2015	Pekka Rinne	22.10	6.52	14.31
2014-2015	Daniel Sedin	7.80	-1.22	3.29
2014-2015	Henrik Sedin	10.70	7.11	8.91
2014-2015	Paul Stastny	4.70	5.54	5.12
2014-2015	Drew Doughty	7.40	3.65	5.53
2014-2015	Jason Spezza	10.90	3.78	7.34
2014-2015	Dion Phaneuf	2.00	-4.77	-1.39
2014-2015	AVERAGE	10.12	4.52	7.32
2014-2015	FORWARD AVERAGE	8.84	5.59	7.22
2014-2015	JEFF SKINNER	2.50	3.06	2.78

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Looking through those names, I'm seeing a lot of names that I would either classify as "bad contract" or "better than Jeff Skinner.

I think that the GAR values for every player can also illustrate how that statistic is kind of flawed. For example, I actually think that Victor Hedman is quite overrated, but he won the Norris Trophy in 2017-2018 and scored 63 points. How on earth did Jeff Skinner, a mediocre defensive forward who scored 49 points, have a higher GAR in 2017-2018 than Hedman? Should we really place our faith - and should Buffalo place their faith in the form of $72 million dollars - in a statistic which says that Jeff Skinner in 2017-2018 was better than Victor Hedman in 2017-2018? Probably not...

This contract is probably better than the alternative for Buffalo - letting him walk - but it is not a good contract. Just screaming "cap hit percentage!!!" at people who might completely understand cap hit percentage, and still think it is a bad contract, does not change that.

I don't know a whole lot about GAR honestly. But there are some definite reasons that are probably behind why their GAR numbers in 17-18 were so close despite their point totals being what they were.

PPTOI: Skinner averaged 2:06 a game while Hedman averaged 3:24.
TOI: Skinner averaged 16:42 while Hedman averaged 25:51.
Penalties taken and drawn: Skinner had 0.74 minor penalties per 60 vs. drawing 1.18. Hedman had 0.81 taken per 60 and 0.45 drawn.

That whole QOT thing:
Tampa's GF of 290 and GA 234
Carolina's GF of 225 and GA of 253
Skinner's 2 most common line combos: Derek Ryan - Skinner - Justin Willams and Derek Ryan - Skinner - Lee Stempniak
Hedman on a stacked team clearly had more TOI with better quality forwards than Skinner did.

Obviously this is only some of the context. But I still think it helps start to show why each player's GAR was what it was. Not many players could put up high point totals in Skinner's position on the Hurricanes in 2017-2018.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Probably not tho. (1) Skinner had more goals last year than Eberle had points; (2) Buffalo would have a hell of a time trying to replace those 40 goals on the UFA market --- there are only a couple guys hitting UFA with that kind of scoring capability, and at least 1 of them (Panarin) would require an absurd overpayment (like $11-12M+) to even put the Sabres in consideration. And that's just to try to replace Skinner, without even touching trying to make the team better.

Paying after a career year or for past production has never been the best GM strategy. You always pay for future production not past. 40 goals in 2018 does not mean 40 goals next year.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Eberle has similar production to Skinner next year.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

Skinner is more consistent than Eberle, but yeah money wise, this shows Skinner should have gotten $7M per.

Not really. I would say they are similar in consistency.

 

[DRW204]

I've noticed a lot of people bringing up cap percentage as an explanation for why Skinner is not overpaid here. I don't really buy that argument.

Assuming the salary cap is $83M next season, Skinner at $9M will be making 10.84% of the salary cap.

Over the past 5 seasons, Jeff Skinner has averaged 29 goals and 49 points per season. Over that same time frame, forwards within +/- $0.5M of 10.84% of the salary cap have averaged 25 goals and 65 points per season.

I've seen a lot of people bringing up goals above replacement. Skinner does average 10.84 GAR per Evolving-Hockey's model, and 8.126 GAR per Corsica's model. The average forward averages 9.6 GAR per Evolving-Hockey and 9.2 per Corsica, and the average player at any position averages 10.1 GAR per Evolving-Hockey and 8.3 per Corsica. When it comes to goals above replacement, Skinner averaging 9.5 GAR per season over both models is better than the average forward in that cap range averaging 9.4 GAR, or the average player at any position averaging 9.2 GAR. So, if you dogmatically refer to GAR, as I've seen some posters in these threads do, then Skinner is fairly paid.

I think the question is: why do GAR models flatter Skinner so heavily? He isn't exactly a great player in the defensive zone. I recognize that over large sample sizes, GAR tends to flatter the players who actually are excellent players, but I do think that there are some outliers, and I do think that

For reference, here is every player from the past 5 seasons who made within +/- $0.5M of 10.84% of the salary cap:

Spoiler

Season	Player	GAR (Evolving-Hockey)	GAR (Corsica.Hockey)	GAR (Average)
2018-2019	PK Subban	-0.70	0.68	-0.01
2018-2019	Sidney Crosby	24.90	11.07	17.99
2018-2019	Corey Perry	-3.40	0.86	-1.27
2018-2019	Henrik Lundqvist	12.30	5.94	9.12
2018-2019	Leon Draisaitl	18.10	29.25	23.68
2018-2019	Steven Stamkos	19.40	28.61	24.01
2018-2019	AVERAGE	11.77	12.74	12.25
2018-2019	FORWARD AVERAGE	14.75	17.45	16.10
2018-2019	JEFF SKINNER	17.60	14.62	16.11
2017-2018	Corey Perry	1.80	-0.81	0.50
2017-2018	Henrik Lundqvist	20.30	6.75	13.53
2017-2018	Leon Draisaitl	10.70	5.31	8.01
2017-2018	Steven Stamkos	18.00	12.02	15.01
2017-2018	Claude Giroux	24.40	22.32	23.36
2017-2018	Ryan Getzlaf	11.10	3.69	7.40
2017-2018	Phil Kessel	9.60	5.35	7.48
2017-2018	Ryan Johansen	1.60	2.75	2.18
2017-2018	Joe Thornton	4.40	3.42	3.91
2017-2018	Brent Burns	-3.30	4.09	0.40
2017-2018	Victor Hedman	12.90	1.40	7.15
2017-2018	Shea Weber	-2.40	1.49	-0.46
2017-2018	Rick Nash	4.50	11.88	8.19
2017-2018	Evgeny Kuznetsov	9.10	10.44	9.77
2017-2018	AVERAGE	8.76	6.44	7.60
2017-2018	FORWARD AVERAGE	9.52	7.64	8.58
2017-2018	JEFF SKINNER	5.40	9.31	7.36
2016-2017	Claude Giroux	4.90	6.39	5.65
2016-2017	Jakub Voracek	1.40	8.10	4.75
2016-2017	Ryan Getzlaf	11.60	8.01	9.81
2016-2017	Phil Kessel	6.30	2.88	4.59
2016-2017	Shea Weber	6.20	6.80	6.50
2016-2017	Rick Nash	2.50	4.91	3.71
2016-2017	Dustin Byfuglien	4.90	1.89	3.40
2016-2017	Zach Parise	5.30	-0.54	2.38
2016-2017	Ryan Suter	17.40	10.89	14.15
2016-2017	Ryan O'Reilly	12.20	8.82	10.51
2016-2017	Vladimir Tarasenko	13.70	22.28	17.99
2016-2017	Pavel Datsyuk
2016-2017	Jason Spezza	7.20	0.58	3.89
2016-2017	Sergei Bobrovsky	58.90	44.73	51.82
2016-2017	AVERAGE	11.73	9.67	10.70
2016-2017	FORWARD AVERAGE	7.23	6.83	7.03
2016-2017	JEFF SKINNER	16.10	9.95	13.03
2015-2016	Claude Giroux	4.60	2.61	3.61
2015-2016	Ryan Getzlaf	9.50	13.14	11.32
2015-2016	Eric Staal	3.50	7.70	5.60
2015-2016	Phil Kessel	10.80	1.04	5.92
2015-2016	Shea Weber	10.00	12.24	11.12
2015-2016	Rick Nash	2.90	2.48	2.69
2015-2016	Zach Parise	-0.20	3.15	1.48
2015-2016	Ryan Suter	15.70	5.22	10.46
2015-2016	Vladimir Tarasenko	12.20	24.66	18.43
2015-2016	Pavel Datsyuk	13.10	12.29	12.70
2015-2016	Jason Spezza	6.40	21.55	13.98
2015-2016	Steven Stamkos	9.30	15.08	12.19
2015-2016	Sergei Bobrovsky	2.90	-3.33	-0.22
2015-2016	Bobby Ryan	7.90	-0.27	3.82
2015-2016	David Krejci	11.20	0.99	6.10
2015-2016	Kris Letang	9.20	9.09	9.15
2015-2016	AVERAGE	8.06	7.98	8.02
2015-2016	FORWARD AVERAGE	7.60	8.70	8.15
2015-2016	JEFF SKINNER	12.60	3.69	8.10
2014-2015	Phil Kessel	-4.20	-2.11	-3.16
2014-2015	Shea Weber	9.00	2.07	5.54
2014-2015	Rick Nash	11.00	12.02	11.51
2014-2015	Zach Parise	10.70	4.73	7.72
2014-2015	Ryan Suter	6.10	4.05	5.08
2014-2015	Steven Stamkos	12.10	11.47	11.79
2014-2015	Pavel Datsyuk	15.90	8.96	12.43
2014-2015	Kris Letang	9.00	5.08	7.04
2014-2015	Brian Campbell	6.10	2.34	4.22
2014-2015	Tuukka Rask	30.70	7.65	19.18
2014-2015	Pekka Rinne	22.10	6.52	14.31
2014-2015	Daniel Sedin	7.80	-1.22	3.29
2014-2015	Henrik Sedin	10.70	7.11	8.91
2014-2015	Paul Stastny	4.70	5.54	5.12
2014-2015	Drew Doughty	7.40	3.65	5.53
2014-2015	Jason Spezza	10.90	3.78	7.34
2014-2015	Dion Phaneuf	2.00	-4.77	-1.39
2014-2015	AVERAGE	10.12	4.52	7.32
2014-2015	FORWARD AVERAGE	8.84	5.59	7.22
2014-2015	JEFF SKINNER	2.50	3.06	2.78

[TBODY] [/TBODY]

Looking through those names, I'm seeing a lot of names that I would either classify as "bad contract" or "better than Jeff Skinner.

I think that the GAR values for every player can also illustrate how that statistic is kind of flawed. For example, I actually think that Victor Hedman is quite overrated, but he won the Norris Trophy in 2017-2018 and scored 63 points. How on earth did Jeff Skinner, a mediocre defensive forward who scored 49 points, have a higher GAR in 2017-2018 than Hedman? Should we really place our faith - and should Buffalo place their faith in the form of $72 million dollars - in a statistic which says that Jeff Skinner in 2017-2018 was better than Victor Hedman in 2017-2018? Probably not...

This contract is probably better than the alternative for Buffalo - letting him walk - but it is not a good contract. Just screaming "cap hit percentage!!!" at people who might completely understand cap hit percentage, and still think it is a bad contract, does not change that.

from what i understand, certain GAR models is relative to players on your team. so if your'e a good player on a bad team you collect more GAR based on the replacement player on your team.

i don't know much about GAR and might be wrong. But would love to learn more if someone more qualified can provide insight

 

[GOALOFSSON]

Paying after a career year or for past production has never been the best GM strategy. You always pay for future production not past. 40 goals in 2018 does not mean 40 goals next year.

Wouldn’t be surprised if Eberle has similar production to Skinner next year.

If you don't pay for what he did when he entered the league, and not for what he did last season, what do you pay for? The future you say?

Skinner will be 27 for all of next season. Somehow I don't think his production is going to drop by improving his surroundings.

I don't know about you, but I for one would be quite surprised to see Eberle nearly double his offensive output from last season. That is oh so much more plausible than Skinner surpassing his "career year ".

 

[GirardSpinorama]

If you don't pay for what he did when he entered the league, and not for what he did last season, what do you pay for? The future you say?

Skinner will be 27 for all of next season. Somehow I don't think his production is going to drop by improving his surroundings.

I don't know about you, but I for one would be quite surprised to see Eberle nearly double his offensive output from last season. That is oh so much more plausible than Skinner surpassing his "career year ".

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Eberle put up 60+ points next year, he's done it multiple times in the past and is only 29 years old. If not, he will very likely hit 50, which is worth 5.5 mill in today's NHL.

The two guys have very similar career stats for like 7-8 seasons, its enough for me to say that they are similar level players. Skinner played better last year, while Eberle was on a defensive minded team. But Skinner didn't suddenly become bigger, stronger, faster, better, he just shot a career high shooting%. I'd be very surprised if he surpass it. Its like buying stocks.. buying high is never a good idea.

 

[GOALOFSSON]

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see Eberle put up 60+ points next year, he's done it multiple times in the past and is only 29 years old. If not, he will very likely hit 50, which is worth 5.5 mill in today's NHL.

The two guys have very similar career stats for like 7-8 seasons, its enough for me to say that they are similar level players. Skinner played better last year, while Eberle was on a defensive minded team. But Skinner didn't suddenly become bigger, stronger, faster, better, he just shot a career high shooting%. I'd be very surprised if he surpass it. Its like buying stocks.. buying high is never a good idea.

That's where you and a lot of others are wrong though, this wasn't a career year for Skinner. We aren't buying high. He has gotten the same 63 points twice before, once during his rookie season. He didn't get 40 goals but he did get 37 like two seasons before, his other 63 point season (lead the team with 51 the year before). Only 27.

The first thing that skews his career stats are the concussion years, followed by generally lower quality line mates (overall, not high scoring Carolina teams. See 51 points leading the team).

So for the Eberle comparison, Skinner has put up 63 points mulitple times (37+ goals twice), scores more goals than Eberle, presumably played with less talent than Eberle outside of last year, he is two years younger.

Playing with Eichel has perks and the team is only getting better around him, coach included. I'd expect his career high to improve rather than decline.

 

[OppositeLocK]

He's like one concussion away from retirement.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

That's where you and a lot of others are wrong though, this wasn't a career year for Skinner. We aren't buying high. He has gotten the same 63 points twice before, once during his rookie season. He didn't get 40 goals but he did get 37 like two seasons before, his other 63 point season (lead the team with 51 the year before). Only 27.

The first thing that skews his career stats are the concussion years, followed by generally lower quality line mates (overall, not high scoring Carolina teams. See 51 points leading the team).

So for the Eberle comparison, Skinner has put up 63 points mulitple times (37+ goals twice), scores more goals than Eberle, presumably played with less talent than Eberle outside of last year, he is two years younger.

Playing with Eichel has perks and the team is only getting better around him, coach included. I'd expect his career high to improve rather than decline.

Skinner would have to be MUCH better for him to justify 9 million. He would need to turn into a completely different player, since he's so far been a one dimensional player like Eberle. I don't see a 27 year old suddenly changing his game.

 

[GOALOFSSON]

Skinner would have to be MUCH better for him to justify 9 million. He would need to turn into a completely different player, since he's so far been a one dimensional player like Eberle. I don't see a 27 year old suddenly changing his game.

Not really, with all of his goals he's only overpaid by a bit. Doesn't need to be MUCH better, but he will be anyways due to Eichel and the team improving.

Eberle still doesn't quite get the goals as much and is older.

 

[SB716]

He's like one concussion away from retirement.

How many games has he missed over his career? I wonder if that’s been covered in this thread at all?

 

[biotk]

The Evolving Wild contract projections for Skinner was 8 years at 8.5 and for Eberle at 5 years was 5.75. Both seem to have signed for around their value.

 

[threeVo]

Uh Ebs had 37 points last year Skinner had 40G. You dont walk away from a player because he had a good year, you retain talent and try to improve the rest of the roster around him. If you overpay by 1M or whatever then yeah you eat it. The Sabres are in good shape cap wise for 2 more seasons until Dahlin signs for 10M+

 

[jcbeze]

It's an extra million per, at most. Small potatoes. Just stop. Thanks.

 

[TomasHertlsRooster]

Skinner is more consistent than Eberle, but yeah money wise, this shows Skinner should have gotten $7M per.

Evander Kane getting $7M per already showed that Skinner was going to get more than $7M.

 

[Midnight Judges]

$7.5M seems more about right.

 

[Yatzhee]

Skinner would have to be MUCH better for him to justify 9 million. He would need to turn into a completely different player, since he's so far been a one dimensional player like Eberle. I don't see a 27 year old suddenly changing his game.

We hear this every year, and every year the incremental cap increases make contracts like this fall in line with value within the 2nd to 3rd year, and given his age, length of contract, figure skating acumen and elite sniping ability, years 4, 5 and 6 are projecting far above market value with years 7 and 8 falling either in line or slightly below market value. Over all, given Skinners skating training in the past, he projects to have very little to no slow down until maybe years 7 and 8, and that's a big maybe given his agility. The only thing that could heavily impact this contract is a concussion, given his history, but he hasn't seen an issue in a bit now, so it's a coin toss on that one.

In the end, he's worth every penny of that 9 mil, would I have like to have seen 8/8.5? You bet your bippy, but 9 is right in line with his value.

 

[obey86]

Not really, with all of his goals he's only overpaid by a bit. Doesn't need to be MUCH better, but he will be anyways due to Eichel and the team improving.

Eberle still doesn't quite get the goals as much and is older.

Haha.

Look at all the other players in the league making like 8.5-9.5M. They are all basically either star players, or centers, or both. Skinner is neither.

 

[obey86]

We hear this every year, and every year the incremental cap increases make contracts like this fall in line with value within the 2nd to 3rd year, and given his age, length of contract, figure skating acumen and elite sniping ability, years 4, 5 and 6 are projecting far above market value with years 7 and 8 falling either in line or slightly below market value. Over all, given Skinners skating training in the past, he projects to have very little to no slow down until maybe years 7 and 8, and that's a big maybe given his agility. The only thing that could heavily impact this contract is a concussion, given his history, but he hasn't seen an issue in a bit now, so it's a coin toss on that one.

In the end, he's worth every penny of that 9 mil, would I have like to have seen 8/8.5? You bet your bippy, but 9 is right in line with his value.

Can you remind me the last time a forward with a career high around 63 points got paid with a top 15 cap hit (among forwards) in the NHL? Serious question.

 

[Yatzhee]

Can you remind me the last time a forward with a career high around 63 points got paid with a top 15 cap hit (among forwards) in the NHL? Serious question.

Thomas Vanek

 

[Diamonddog01]

This contract will be atrocious in three years.