Buffalo Sabres get: LW Jeff Skinner
Carolina Hurricanes get: RW/C Cliff Pu, 2019 second-round pick, 2020 third-round pick, 2020 sixth-round pick
Buffalo Sabres: A
Let's put aside, for a moment, that Jeff Skinner is an unrestricted free agent next summer. For now, the Sabres have acquired a winger who ranks 13th in the NHL in goals scored since 2015, with 89. That's more than Artemi Panarin, more than Sean Monahan, more than David Pastrnak. And Skinner hasn't had the luxury of the high-end talent on his lines that those scorers have had.
He'll have it now, presumably. Skinner could saddle up on a line with Jack Eichel. Or, perhaps, he's the Jordan Eberle to Casey Mittelstadt's Mathew Barzal, to put it in recent Calder Trophy-winner terms. He's a dynamic offensive player.
He's also a player who didn't cost the Sabres much in acquiring him. Losing a second-round pick in 2019 hurts a heck of a lot less when Buffalo has three potential first-round picks next summer: Their own and conditional picks from the San Jose Sharks and St. Louis Blues. Losing a third and a sixth means nothing. Losing Cliff Pu hurts a little, as he's a top 10 prospect in the Sabres' system with some offensive upside. But it's a manageable loss.
Think of it this way: Skinner effectively replaces Evander Kane in the Sabres' lineup for next season. Since 2015, he has scored 12 more goals and 31 more points than Kane. Buffalo received a conditional first-round pick, Danny O'Regan and a conditional fourth-round pick from the Sharks for Kane at the trade deadline. They just acquired arguably a better player without surrendering a first.
But is Skinner a better player than Kane? There is one rather big knock on Skinner, which is his defense. Frankly, that part of his game hasn't developed much in his NHL career. He's a rather one-dimensional player. But that one dimension is something the Sabres covet after finishing last in the NHL with 2.41 goals per game last season.
OK, time to revisit the elephant in the corner: He's an unrestricted free agent next summer. Reading too much into the price on this trade could be dangerous, but one wonders what GMs Don Waddell and Jason Botterill know about Skinner's future plans when a top-line player moves without a first-round pick involved. Worst-case scenario for the Sabres? Skinner uses their centers to pump up his stats before leaving. But even then, it might still be worth the price.
Carolina Hurricanes: B
Here's what Waddell said about Skinner going to Buffalo: "With Jeff becoming an unrestricted free agent next summer, this was the right time for us to move on, and to provide Jeff with a fresh start in Buffalo. We talked to every team in the league over the past four months, and ultimately the Sabres were the team that provided us with the best value in return, including three picks and a prospect we like in Cliff Pu."
What we can glean from this: Skinner was absolutely gone from Raleigh next summer, and the market for him likely didn't materialize the way the Hurricanes had hoped. (One wonders if too many teams were playing the Max Pacioretty waiting game for a pending UFA winger.) Mike Hoffman moved from San Jose to Florida for a second in 2019, along with a fourth and a fifth in 2018. Skinner was basically one Pu better than that deal.
The larger issue, of course, is that Skinner had a full no-movement clause and controlled where he would play next season. There was talk at the NHL draft that Skinner had rejected a few trade destinations. But the 26-year-old Markham, Ontario, native obviously decided that playing closer to home in Buffalo was palatable. At least for one season.
The Hurricanes got a few assets for one that was expiring. Could they have used Skinner's goals this season, being that the Hurricanes are a bit of an offensively challenged team (23rd in offense, 2.74 goals per game)? Sure. But they were going to either watch him walk next summer or trade him for an undetermined price at the deadline, if he moved at all with that NMC. At least here they have some cost certainty.
We're giving them a "B" because one assumes that the no-move clause made life difficult and options limited. But we also don't blame Canes fans for being frustrated.
For Carolina, the attention now turns to that overcrowded blue line. At what point do they flip a defenseman for more scoring up front?