Jeff Skinner buyout a possibility for Sabres – Sportsnet.ca

The Buffalo Sabres are considering a big move that would free up some more cap space for the summer.

Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported on Tuesday’s episode of The Jeff Marek Show that a buyout of the final three years of Jeff Skinner‘s contract “is a possibility.”

“I do think it’s possible,” Friedman reported when asked by Marek. “Obviously, nobody here is talking… but there have been some rumblings around the league that that is a possibility.”

Buyouts cannot be processed until 48 hours after the Stanley Cup Final ends.

The buyout would pay Skinner two-thirds of his remaining salary over the next six seasons. Here is how the buyout will count against the Sabres’ salary cap, according to Capfriendly.

After accounting for the buyout, the Sabres will have more than $30 million in salary cap space to make additions to their roster this summer as they try to snap the longest playoff drought in the NHL, which currently stands at 13 seasons.

Skinner, 32, is coming off a down season in which he scored just 24 goals and 46 points in 74 games last season. He has 357 goals and 670 points in 1,006 NHL games.