The 25-year-old superstar of the Sabres is expected to sign a big free agent contract…

Ever since coming to Buffalo back in August 2018, Jeff Skinner has been a fan favorite. After scoring 40 goals in his first season with the Sabres, Skinner earned himself a lengthy contract extension. Ever since that day, the contract has been a topic of conversation. In case you forgot, Jeff signed an 8 year, $72 million contract extension to remain with the Sabres.

While it hasn’t happened yet, there have been rumblings that Skinner could be bought out in the offseason.

In the clip above, Elliotte Friedman thinks that Buffalo could be moving on from Skinner. Whether it’s being bought out or traded, there are discussions that Jeff could’ve played his last game as a Sabre back in April. That’s all we know as of now.

This is just talk. Neither Skinner nor the Sabres have said anything. Hypothetically speaking, let’s just say Buffalo buys out the forward. If that happens, the Sabres would still owe Jeff money but it also would free up some cap space for the team. General manager Kevyn Adams did say what he wants to do in the offseason and if he made some room, it would help out Buffalo in terms of getting more talent.

He is beloved by the Sabres fanbase and while it would be tough to see him go; it helps Buffalo with what they want to accomplish. Ever since signing the extension, Skinner has been up and down. The first couple of years were awful as he scored 21 goals combined.

During the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 campaigns, Jeff did reach 30 goals. This season, it was a step back. In 74 games played, Skinner scored 24 goals and recorded 22 assists. Again, I’m not sure how true it is about him being bought out. However, it would make sense as Buffalo hopes to end the playoff drought.