Carolina Hurricanes: Options were limited in Jeff Skinner trade

The Carolina Hurricanes traded Jeff Skinner to the Buffalo Sabres Thursday night.

In a move that was a matter of when, not if, this offseason, the Carolina Hurricanes traded left winger Jeff Skinner. The team moved the former first round pick to the Buffalo Sabres for forward Cliff Pu, a 2019 second-round pick, and a 2020 third and sixth round pick.

This is not the kind of return expected for a player of Skinner’s caliber. He has over 200 goals, 375 points in 578 games and has had over 24 goals each of the past three seasons.

However, Skinner was entering his final year of his contract. This would likely mean that any kind of return would hinge on if the team trading for Skinner felt confident in re-signing him or if he was viewed as a one-year rental.

In addition to the issue of his contract, the 26-year old also had a no-trade clause in his contract. This meant that regardless if the Hurricanes were able to strike a deal, Skinner essentially had the final say on if he would go to that team.

According to Greg Vorse of Spectrum News, the Sabres GM Jason Botterill was happy Skinner wanted to come to Buffalo. They will also try to work on a contract extension in the future.

The loss of Jeff Skinner will sting for any Hurricanes’ fans and the lack of quality return doesn’t help ease that pain. However, any return is better than nothing which is what would have happened had Skinner left at the end of the year.

While the draft picks are nice, and the Hurricanes could use those in the future trades, the determining factor in this deal will be Cliff Pu. If Pu is able to develop like some believe he can, like Steve Kournianos at The Draft Analyst believes he could, this deal could end up being a smart move.

This is just one trade that fans will just have to wait and see but based on the circumstances, the Carolina Hurricanes seem to have gotten the best return they could.