Multiple reports from the likes of Bob McKenzie of TSN and NBCSN, Jeremy White of WGR 550, and Die By The Blade’s own Chad DeDominicis suggest that the Buffalo Sabres and Jeff Skinner may be close to finalizing a deal in the eight-year $72 million ($9 million/year) range, give or take half a million dollars.
That’s a lot of money! But if we step back and look at standard operating procedure around the league for players with similar outputs as Jeff Skinner, I don’t think that cap hit is as outrageous as it initially sounds.