Jason Botterill and the Sabres were able to land Jeff Skinner from the Carolina Hurricanes for a bunch of low probability unknowns. It's another positive move this offseason for the Sabres. Skinner will join Conor Sheary and shoring up the Sabres left wing depth which was sorely lacking. Jack Eichel will get to play with one of the best goal scoring wingers in hockey. Buffalo is in a great spot with Skinner because either they extend him to be Eichel's long term winger or they trade him at the deadline for more than they got him for. It would almost be impossible to get less than Carolina did.
The return Carolina got for Skinner was a feasible one for the Penguins to give up. They just don't have the cap space to make anything like that happen right now. When you can spend over 5M on your bottom pairing, you do it.
Ryan Kesler and Ryan Johansen are spicing up the month of August.
@RyanJohansen19 How’s summer training going? Want to meet me in the streets before we get going on the ice?
This stems from the 2017 playoffs when Kesler was spearing people in the groin area. Johansen had this to say about Kesler.
Why does Kesler want to meet Johansen in the street? He might not even play in the 2018-19 season due to hip surgery. He's an aging and declining talent. Johansen plays on one of the best teams in the league and is still productive. If Kesler plays he'll probably try and make a spectacle of things and try to fight Johansen again. It will probably be the only note worthy thing he does all season, if he plays.
Sticking with the Ducks John Gibson just received a healthy contract extension
John Gibson has signed an 8-year, $51.2 million extension with the Anaheim Ducks. pic.twitter.com/rA2S3ulgwd
Gibson is a Pittsburgh native and has played really well the last few seasons. He looks to be a quality starting goaltender. This issue here is the eight years. There's so much risk in tying up that kind of term in a goaltender. There aren't many goaltenders who have been able to live up to the mega term contracts.
William Karlsson avoided arbitration by signing a one-year 5.25M contract with the Vegas Golden Knights. This is a good contract for Vegas. They get to see Karlsson for another year, one that he likely won't shoot 23%, before signing a huge deal. I imagine players that sign long term deals immediately after an inflated shooting percentage season probably doesn't fare well for the teams signing them. I'm sure Vegas is willing to commit to William Karlsson, but understandably want to see how this season plays out first.
Mark Stone also avoided arbitration by signing a one-year contract worth 7.35M with the Senators. This is a huge win for the player because he is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent next year and can leave the worst franchise in the NHL. Offer sheets aren't a real thing, but if they were I doubt Stone would have signed one and risked Ottawa matching it. Now he can play out a single season for over 7M and pick his long term destination. Great day for Mark Stone.
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