RALEIGH, N.C. _ The remaking of the Carolina Hurricanes continued Thursday as they traded Jeff Skinner to the Buffalo Sabres for a package of draft picks and a prospect, parting ways with a 30-goal scorer and Calder Trophy winner who was once the franchise's biggest star and is still only 26 years old.
In return for Skinner, who waived his no-trade clause to accept the trade to Buffalo, the Hurricanes received a second-round draft pick in 2019, third- and sixth-round picks in 2020 and 20-year-old forward Cliff Pu, who was the Sabres' third-round pick in 2016.
The Hurricanes had been trying to trade Skinner since the end of the season without success and, as recently as Wednesday afternoon, had reconciled themselves to opening training camp on Sept. 13 with Skinner in the lineup. But as the field of teams chasing Skinner narrowed, the Hurricanes decided late Wednesday to move ahead with Buffalo's offer.
While potential deals came and went over the offseason, none were close enough to take to Skinner for approval, and while the Hurricanes were holding out for a first-round pick, the Sabres are expected to struggle next season, which means their second-round pick is likely to come quickly after the first round.
A Skinner trade became necessary when it became clear that he was unlikely to re-sign with the Hurricanes before his contract expired after next season. The Hurricanes' options were to trade him now, or at the trade deadline, or risk losing him for nothing. Skinner's departure also opens the door for one of the prospects the Hurricanes have been stockpiling to claim a spot on the top three lines in training camp, creating competition that wasn't there before.
Skinner burst into the league in 2010 straight out of the draft, where he was the seventh overall pick. He scored 32 goals on his way to the All-Star Game and rookie-of-the-year honors as an 18-year-old, beating out much older rookies for the Calder. He hit the 30-goal mark twice more over the next seven seasons but also battled persistent concussion issues and struggled to gain the trust of his coaches, most recently the departed Bill Peters, who criticized Skinner's defensive effort and restricted his ice time accordingly _ especially in four-on-four and three-on-three overtime situations when Skinner should have thrived.
His skill with the puck and balance on his skates _ the latter derived from many years of figure skating _ made him a deadly scoring threat when he was on his game, but he was too often a nonfactor for long stretches, even when he was fully healthy.
After a summer of trade talk, the eventual deal with the Sabres came together quickly. Wednesday afternoon, general manager Don Waddell said the Hurricanes were content to move ahead with Skinner: "We're still talking about it, but we have no issues with Jeff. We'd be happy to have him back."
Within the next four hours, talks with Buffalo accelerated rapidly, to the point where the framework of the deal was agreed Wednesday night and the trade was finalized Thursday.
Pu, a 6-foot-3 forward from suburban Toronto, scored a total of 74 goals the past two seasons in the Ontario Hockey League and just signed an entry-level contract with the Sabres. He is expected to play for Charlotte (AHL) this season.
