The Sharks and Jeff Skinner have mutually agreed to terminate their contract. Skinner was placed on waivers yesterday and cleared earlier today, finalizing the move. Skinner will become an unrestricted free agent, and the Sharks will not be responsible for the remainder of his salary this season.Â
Skinner signed a 1-year deal with the Sharks this past offseason and was looked at as a solid scoring option to add depth to what was supposed to be one of the weaker rosters in terms of depth in the league. The Sharks have outperformed expectations this season; however, Skinner has seen his ice time dwindle as the year has gone on. Getting beat out by Phillip Kurashev, Adam Gaudette, and, as of late, Pavol Regenda for top 9 ice time. The Last time Skinner suited up for the Sharks was on January 11th, and he was a likely waiver candidate to make room for Ryan Reaves once the NHL resumed the season after the Olympics.Â
Skinner will opt to look for an opportunity elsewhere. While his 13 points in 32 games and lack of any defensive game are not very attractive at a $ 3 million cap hit, he should see some interest at the veteran minimum for teams looking to add some veteran scoring depth on the cheap. Especially considering he was willing to walk away from the remainder of his salary with the Sharks.
The Sharks also benefit from terminating Skinner's contract rather than using waivers, as it guarantees they create roster space to add players at the trade deadline or through college free agency down the stretch without needing to make a corresponding roster move. The Sharks are currently sitting at 48 out of 50 contracts after this transaction.
The Sharks will be back in action on February 26th, after the Olympic break, presumably with a fully compliant roster, with Reaves returning from IR to replace Skinner, in all likelihood.