Proposal: Buffalo / Nashville

[Archie Lee]

To Nashville:

Skinner, LW, 5.7 mil, ufa July 1
Sobotka, C/LW, 50% retained on his 3.5 million deal, 1 year of term left after this year

To Buffalo:

Fiala, LW, last year of ELC
Jarnkrok, C/LW, 2.0 mil, 3 years of term left after this year


There may be an arms race in the West at the trade deadline. Nashville gets the league's 2nd leading goal scorer and has the cap space to take a run at him, if they wish, in the off-season. If not they still have Tolvanen coming up. In Sobotka they get a guy with one year of term left who has had a rough year being asked to masquerade as a 2nd line centre in Buffalo. As a 4th line centre and PKer he'll be fine; and maybe playing for a contender will ignite the passion he used to play with.

The Sabres contending window is 2 years away when Dahlen is off his ELC and nearer to his prime. So they avoid the risk of a bad contract that will negatively impact their contending window (ie: they don's keep Skinner) and add a good young LW who could play with Eichel or Mittelstadt for the next 5-6 years and a youngish player with term who is reasonably-priced/versatile/Swedish and can help out the bottom 6.

Click to read more...

 

[LongWayDown37]

No thanks from Buffalo. Looking forward to locking Skinner in for the long term with little concern that it might turn into a bad contract.

 

[tsujimoto74]

Buffalo's not trading Skinner

 

[780il]

No from both sides probably.

Buffalo won't let go of Skinner

Nashville won't give up cost controlled assets

 

[Porter Stoutheart]

Pass from the Nashville side. Don't want to trade Fiala for a rental, no interest whatsoever in taking on Sobotka.

 

[MackAttack26]

Any chance we can just remove Skinner and everything Nashville sends to Buffalo in this deal?

 

[Archie Lee]

No thanks from Buffalo. Looking forward to locking Skinner in for the long term with little concern that it might turn into a bad contract.

Just curious, do you mean you are confident a Skinner extension won't turn out to be a bad contract for the Sabres, or that you are fine with the Sabres giving him what turns out to be a bad contract?

 

[Jumpinjackflash]

Nashville can have Sobotka for Pekka Rinne's game worn jockstrap

 

[WeDislikeEich]

No interest in trading Skinner unless he makes it abundantly clear he isn’t signing here, which isn’t the case (in fact, it’s the opposite).

He has fit in so well in buffalo and is our first 35 goal scorer since the 2008 season (and also has the most game winning goals of any player since the 2008/09 season)

It would just be soul crushing to the team to trade him (his teammates absolutely rave about him), especially when he wants to sign a long term deal to stay.


Also, I have no real worries of it being a bad contract. He is only 26.


But hey, if you want to work something out for Sobotka, we can do that! lol

 

[Outofbodyinhungary]

We will take sobotkas contract with some retention if you throw in your first round pick for this year

 

[Gh24]

Fiala has more value than you think. In my opinion, he's only moved for an extended top 6 forward. He's gonna be a consistent 50-60pt guy for us. He's going to reach around 45pts this season while having a bad year.

I'm expecting a two year 4-5m bridge before an 8 year 6.5m deal.

An extended Skinner is enough to begin the negotiation, but anything involving a pick and/or an unproven prospect is a joke in my eyes.

 

[Gh24]

Granted, that's an opinion of a fan that thinks highly of him, but still...

 

[5 Minute Major]

Fiala has more value than you think. In my opinion, he's only moved for an extended top 6 forward. He's gonna be a consistent 50-60pt guy for us. He's going to reach around 45pts this season while having a bad year.

I'm expecting a two year 4-5m bridge before an 8 year 6.5m deal.

An extended Skinner is enough to begin the negotiation, but anything involving a pick and/or an unproven prospect is a joke in my eyes.

An extended Skinner is enough to begin the negotiation.

Get real.

 

[Gh24]

An extended Skinner is enough to begin the negotiation.

Get real.

I value Skinner highly, but if we're moving a young, NHL proven high level assett, it's not for a rental.

 

[GeauxPreds1]

I value Skinner highly, but if we're moving a young, NHL proven high level assett, it's not for a rental.

This right here. Why would nashville give a proven top 6 forward that has shown signs of potential to get even better and is 22 that will be fairly cheap for at least a few more years AND a player that can play up and down the line up and PK PP time as well that only makes 2 million a year for a player that could walk. Skinner is a special talent but that's to much for a rental. If he doesnt resign then we are 2 players short next year looking to try and fill those spots

 

[HiddenInLight]

Sabres are not trading skinner. Period.

 

[Kublakhan]

Skinner holds the keys to his future he can not be traded ..

 

[MayDayMayDay]

Value is probably right, but I prefer to keep and re up Skinny.

 

[allsilverdreams]

Throw in a second and third round pick and it's a deal from the Sabres side you have a great chance at Lord Stanley with Skinner this year.

 

[Hasekperreault23]

This right here. Why would nashville give a proven top 6 forward that has shown signs of potential to get even better and is 22 that will be fairly cheap for at least a few more years AND a player that can play up and down the line up and PK PP time as well that only makes 2 million a year for a player that could walk. Skinner is a special talent but that's to much for a rental. If he doesnt resign then we are 2 players short next year looking to try and fill those spots

To win a cup?

 

[vipera1960]

Value is probably right, but I prefer to keep and re up Skinny.

I understand you want to keep Skinner (maybe you meant this is what it would take), but the value is terrible. This is a top 6 wing and a top 9 center, both with term, for a rental and a cap dump. Sorry, if I'm paying that kind of price I better be renting McDavid.

 

[AdmiralsFan24]

To win a cup?

Can you guarantee that Nashville would win the Cup this year if they did this trade?

 

[LongWayDown37]

Just curious, do you mean you are confident a Skinner extension won't turn out to be a bad contract for the Sabres, or that you are fine with the Sabres giving him what turns out to be a bad contract?

I think it’s unlikely he falls off a cliff and the contract is horrible. His production may dip but I also think he’s got multiple 40 goal seasons playing with Eichel in him. Worth the risk is what I’m saying.

 

[Hasekperreault23]

Can you guarantee that Nashville would win the Cup this year if they did this trade?

No guarantee of course not but you could you make that trade all day.People get so hung up on prospects and yes I like him but if I have a chance to win cup and in a position like Nashville is I make the trade

 

[Archie Lee]

I think it’s unlikely he falls off a cliff and the contract is horrible. His production may dip but I also think he’s got multiple 40 goal seasons playing with Eichel in him. Worth the risk is what I’m saying.

Fair enough. The concern I have is that in his pre-Sabre career Skinner's average goals/82 game pace was 29. The range per season was a low of 19 and a high of 38.

The contract #'s that people are throwing around for Skinner range from 6-7 years at $7.5 mil at the low end to 8 years and $9.5 mil at the high end. Let's split the difference and say the Sabres lock him up at 7-8 years for $8.25 - 8.75 mil per year. How many goals per year does Skinner need to score to justify that contract? Certainly more than his sub-30 career average.

One of the arguments for locking Skinner up is that pre-Buffalo he did not have the benefit of playing with a player like Eichel. I see two issues with this: 1.) At $8 mil plus per year a player should be able to drive his own line; and 2.) It is a mistake to think a team can/should commit to playing any two players together.

I think that the biggest mistake the Sabres can make this off-season is to think they are a cap-team. Over the next couple of seasons, the Sabres would do well to be in the bottom 6 or 7 in cap spending. Their real cup window will be the 5 year period that overlaps the last 5 years of Eichel’s 8-year deal and the first 5 years of Dahlen’s post ELC. Not because they need to wait for Dahlen to be on a big contract, but because that is when he will be approaching his prime (and Eichel will still be in his).

Every contract signed in the next 2 years should be viewed through the lens of how it will impact the team's cap flexibility in that 5 year window. Committing $8 mil plus for 7-8 years to a career sub-30 goal scorer is very risky.

Of course, this is most likely a moot discussion. Skinner has the Sabres over a barrel. If he indeed has a full NMC and it is his primary goal to maximize his next contract, then I see no chance that he will waive as the risk would be too great.