Pittsburgh Penguins General Manager Jim Rutherford continues to search for that elusive top six winger. It appears a former player of his may be available

From Elliotte Friedman's 30 thoughts

15. Skinner’s name is out there, I think, because, unlike some of his teammates, he does not have no-trade protection. His cap hit is $5.725M. He’s 23, one year removed from a 33-goal season. Health is a concern, but he has played 190 of Carolina’s past 212 games. You can see why other teams would query. Former GM Jim Rutherford did explore the market on Skinner at least once.

Carolina is not going to give this player away and Skinner carries a 5.725M cap hit.

I personally don't think that the cap hit and assets needed to acquire Jeff Skinner are ultimately worth it. In fact he's incredibly similar to another guy on Carolina's roster that is routinely heavily criticized.



For all the criticism levied at Alexander Semin he has better underlying numbers than Jeff Skinner in 2014-15 (and in the past). Alex Semin's low Goals per 60 can be tracked to a wrist injury and a career low shooting percentage. What can Skinner's possession woes be tracked to? The last two years Skinner has woefully under performed in his roles with Carolina



The nice thing about dCorsi is that it is usage adjusted and takes into consideration the quality of linemates. With the linemates Skinner plays with he is expected to do more, but does not. Semin has outperformed his lesser role and the team should have looked to give him something more to handle.

The comparables for Jeff Skinner's 2014-15 season aren't the greatest for a top six winger making close to six million dollars.




Some more comparisons:






Personally speaking I would rather take the risk on the player who is going to cost less to acquire and at worst has comparable numbers to the other guy.

Lastly, Skinner's concussion history deserves a mention. He has had multiple concussions so there is at least some risk involved outside of his on-ice production.

If Pittsburgh wants to pursue a six million dollar Carolina Hurricanes forward that will cost significant assets to acquire at least make it Jordan Staal.

Thanks for reading!

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