StuckinFL

Oh I'm not advocating doing this. You had stated that it would be unrealistic. I was playing devil's advocate and stating that this is a scenario that is possible. I certainly would be irritated with it occurring as well. Should've worded it much better. I think the only reason he shouldn't be signed ASAP is if he's asking too much or is showing primadonna behavior behind the scenes. No telling how much the cap is gonna be raised after Seattle joins the party. I'm unsure about giving that 8th year without getting a discount though. Dahlin needs to get paid eventually as well as whomever we plug at 2c. Because this team is going nowhere without an exceptional 2c no matter how stacked the first line is.

Untrue, offer him to a team that's going on a cup run. Ask him where he'd wanna be traded to and agree to his UFA contract (spoken of course) before trading him. You're looking out for someone, giving them a huge opportunity to hoist Lord Stanley and get assets. You're not maximizing your return, but you are taking care of your player which is a sign that goes out the the rest of the players about what kind of organization this is to work for.

Problem being that Sam got HORRIBLY lost as a center last time we tried and his confidence plummeted and took half a season to get his groove back. Doesn't matter what he played prior, he can't translate his game to the center position at the NHL level. No amount of hopes and dreams can change that. Too tight of a game and too much responsibility. If he's not in your top 6 on wing, trade him for someone who fits your vision better.

Leave him exposed to Seattle and offer them a sweetener. New expansion teams need to build a pipeline from the ground up so hopefully we can offer picks for them to choose him.

I think it's a case of he doesn't wanna play right now, period. I can't imagine JBot saying no if he asked for a trade.

Close family member (wife, sibling, parent) struggling with drug addiction or cancer and wanting to be there for them worth more than money, contracting autoimmune disease like HIV that wouldn't effect your ability right away but also would make you weary of taking routine hits and injuries, drug use triggering the onset of schitzophrenia, talking to ROR too much and losing your love of the game, making a bad joke about Risto on the first day and having him stare you down silenty without breaking eye contact during every practice and locker room change since, after making said joke finding Risto in bed with your wife, Marty Biron having your address and constantly stopping by to chat and your kids start calling him dad, ect. If any of those are the case I could see walking away from the contract and not wanting the reason why to be public knowledge.

I personally think the article was too kind. He's not ready for the NHL.

I'd like to see Nylander up for a stretch. He looked great in the preseason and I think he might generate some life into the 2nd or 3rd line.

OFC. Good job refs.

I'm really beginning to love Bogo. Screw his injury history, sign him.

Anyone but Mopey McMopesalot...

We honestly don't deserve to win this game...

There needs to be sustained pressure. They'll crumble if we can get a sustained shift.

GET HUTTON OUT OF THERE!!!!

COME ON!!!!

Side note: how great is this team going to be in the next 2 years if JBot keeps this up? I wasn't even this excited when we landed Dahlin or Eichel as I am in this moment. This is what being a sports fan is all about. I love the team he's building.

Amen, I wanna see him as a Sabres for the rest of his career. But I don't think we need to overpay him to do it at the expense of our future. Totally agreed. That's why you don't need to overpay to entice him to stay. 9+, like I've read a few times in this thread, for max term is a gross overpayment.

Not at all, I continually state over and over that he is a 30g scorer and should be paid like one, not a 40+g player on his own. As far as Jack's contract, he's younger and hasn't scratched the surface of his prime years yet. And I think his contract is going to look like highway robbery in a few years. I think you and I are in agreement on everything other than what other GMs will offer him and that he'd be willing to go to. So why are we disagreeing? I think he can get about 9 per but not with max term, so thats the wiggle room. I think Buffalo is the greenest pasture for him as far as term, $, linemates, and projected competitivness. I think the market won't be insane and he can be had for less than 8 for max term.

Yes, I don't think he will ever scratch the possibility of a 50g season without a superstar like Eichel feeding him. A 50g season and a 37g season are 2 totally different beasts. One is impressive, the other is top of the league. And a player that can score 50g with an average center I would feel paying 9 for 8 would be a n absolute bargain. A player that's hit 28, 37, and 24 (ES: 24, 30, and 20 respectively) in his past 3 seasons is not a 50g talent by himself. So don't pay him like he is one. Pay him like a 30-35 goal talent. And that is between 7 and 8 depending on term, how much the player wants to go there, and how good of a negotiator the GM is. You can't say that Eichel is contributing to his success and then say that Eichel's assistance shouldn't be factored in to projecting what to pay him. That just makes no sense to me. I mean, even if he hits 50g this year, that's an average of 34 goals over 4 seasons. Offer the man that kind of deal.

But that's exactly the point. What other GMs will pay him sets the table. If no one else in the league is going to drive his contract up to 9m then why would we pay him that? Just cause it's a nice thing to do? You figure out what the market outside of Buffalo will be and then negotiate accordingly. And I don't see any GM in the entire league looking at Skinner, even if he scores 50g this season, offering him 9+ for 8. If he was being centered by a league average center I could see that happening. But that's not what's happening and alot, not all but alot, of his current success is due to being on Eichel's wing. GMs employ pro scouts for a reason and I can't see anyone watching Skinner this year thinking he's going to be a 40g player without a superstar center for another 8 years. If someone out there is that naive, let them have him and try to trade him to them this year so you can get something back.

I'm not saying ANY winger. Kane proved that point. But I believe playing with Jack will net a player about 10 goals a season just by nature of how amazing his vision, speed, and skills are. I wouldn't be insanely surprised if Skinner hits 45g this year. But do I think that's because he's a 45g talent? Not by a long shot. His past 3 years hes netted 28, 37, and 24 (ES at 24g, 30g, and 20g respectively). Paying him as a 30g talent for 7 or 8 is MORE than fair. I'm not saying that he's not a great talent because he is. But he is a replaceable talent. We have the most important piece of talent in that duo locked up in a contract that will look like highway robbery in a few years. Lets say you're a GM from Pittsburgh. You've seen the massive success your team has had over the past decade and you're looking to build a basement team up into a SC champion. Do you load up a top line or do you have multiple lines with massive talent that year in and year out teams struggle against? Do you overpay for a top line winger due to one season of great chemistry he has with your world class talent 1C, or do you methodically build up your team with multiple lines that are threat and a world class defense that can join the attack? And lets say you're an outside GM that's scouting Buffalo for Skinner. Do you think he's this player without Jack and pay him accordingly? Or do you think he's a 30g talent by himself? And how many people thought that Kane was overpaid at 7 for 7? (and almost all his goals are at ES and he can have that production with anyone centering him because he never met a shot he didn't like.) If he signs in Buffalo I think alot of you are gonna be doing backflips for what JBot signs him for. If he signs somewhere else and a GM has lost their mind and overpays, good for him and I'd wish him the best with no hard feelings. Jack is the deciding factor in that equation, and I look forward to him making another 30g talent look even better for a lesser price.

If nothing else, beating the leafs in a playoff series would be magical. I think that might be even sweeter than winning the SC.

My point exactly. I just don't see the offers coming in for 9 for 8 or anything ridiculous like that. The most ridiculous offers for Skinner will be at the trade deadline as a 1yr rental (which even if the offers are there I don't see us taking them. ST holders would riot as there's no one ready to take up that production YET) and hovering at 8 or slightly above. But I don't see a full 7 or 8 for that $. Skinner is amazing, but he's the first great winger Jack has played with. For crying out loud last year there were those of us clamoring for Girgs to be on Jack's wing for production. Skinner's numbers are more of a testament to how far Jack can lift up another player not named Kane. There's no way you overpay a winger based on the talent of his center unless you're Tim Murray. And we saw how that strategy worked with Moulson and Okposo.

The Albatross was a good luck sign until someone killed it which brings on the curse.

In total over term yes. I don't see any teams offering him 8 or more for 7/8. Only for 6 or less. There's alot of bad anchor deals out there for too much term that have blown up and I see a course correction occurring (Evander Kane excluding) over the past few years in comparison to the past as the cap ceiling didn't increase the way most GMs had anticipated over the past half decade. Wether or not Skinner takes the deal remains to be seen. But Skinner is definitely a luxury, not a necessity on this team. Jack can elevate another winger to almost his level for a fraction of the price. I just don't see any teams around the league that NEED a winger like him, have a center that can elevate him to that level and that have an opening on their first line, have the price and term available, are poised to be contenders and not rebuilding or declining before he starts to decline, and have a GM that is willing to gamble that he's this player and not a 30g player that's having his career year this season. I can see a team attempting to overpay to get him for a cup run this year, but not the other scenario. I think that we've been so bad for so long that instead of looking at what Skinner is worth to the rest of the NHL, we're instead focused on what we would pay him to keep him and keep this warm glow alive for as long as possible. And we would pay far more to keep him than most teams would pay to acquire him. We would be the highest bidder, which means JBot is negotiating from a very strong position.