The Buffalo Sabers forward is set to play his 900th NHL game Wednesday (7:30 pm ET; TNT, SN NOW) here against the Carolina Hurricanes, his team for his first eight seasons (2010-18).
“Everyone always says it goes by quickly, and I think that’s like a lot of things when you’re having fun,” Skinner said Tuesday.
He is due to hit the milestone during what has been a career season. With 30 assists and 50 points in 46 games, Skinner is on pace for 51 assists and 85 points, which would break his NHL career highs of 32 (in 2010-11) and 63 (2021-22). And his 20 goals put him on pace for 34, meaning he would surpass 30 goals for the second straight season and sixth time in his 13 NHL seasons.
“Such a good player and he’s so unique,” the Sabers forward Casey Mittelstadt said. “I think that’s the craziest thing. There’s no other player in the league like him Jeff Skinner. So yeah, he’s having a blast. He’s smiling. He’s laughing. He’s just having fun. I think that’s when guys are at their best. Everyone’s having fun and just enjoying being together.”
It helps that the Sabers are in the race for the Stanley Cup Playoffs, one point behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. They’re 19-8-4 since losing eight straight from Nov. 4-19.
A win Wednesday in their final game before the NHL All-Star break would move the Sabers into the second wild card. They haven’t qualified for the playoffs since 2011, the longest active drought in the League. Skinner has yet to experience the NHL playoffs, and he wants to capitalize on this opportunity.
“Everyone wants to play on a team that’s in the mix, and I think that’s where we are now,” he said. “I think that’s the goal, beginning of every season, obviously every team has that goal. It’s challenging, it’s a tough league. It’s not like we can let up on anything we’re doing right now. We need to continue to improve, we need to continue to push and hopefully we can continue to be in the mix and push the results we want at the end of the season.”
Don Granato, who has coached Skinner for four seasons — beginning with two as an assistant on Ralph Krueger’s staff before replacing Krueger as Sabers coach March 16, 2021 — praised the 30-year-old’s work ethic.
“He is a very special guy to our team,” Granato said. “He’s a quiet ringleader is what he is. He earns what he gets. He works. What people might not see is he’s a tireless worker. The offseason, at his age, he is in shape when he comes to camp. He’s always the highest among the team and he keeps himself in great shape through the year.”
The third-oldest player on the Sabres, after 41-year-old goalie Craig Anderson and 34-year-old forward Kyle OkposoSkinner continues to evolve, particularly when it comes to his playmaking.
“You try to focus on little things,” Skinner said. “Obviously, you want to keep the strengths in your game and you want to continue to build on those. … I think you always have to continue to keep improving, keep tweaking things because the League’s continuing to improve, young guys are coming in and they’re more talented than they used to be, and more prepared.”
After being acquired in a trade with Carolina on Aug. 2, 2018, Skinner scored an NHL career-high 40 goals in 82 games in 2018-19, his first season with Buffalo, under then-coach Phil Housley, before dropping to 14 in 59 games in 2019-20 under Krueger. He scored twice in 25 games the following season before Granato took over, and finished with seven goals in 53 games.
Granato has seen him grow both on and off the ice, and the coach has gained from that. On the Sabres’ most recent road trip, he invited Skinner into the coaches’ room and then left, allowing Skinner to chat with the rest of the staff and offer his insights.
“When I came in, he was known as a 40-goal scorer and now he’s so much more than that to me,” he said. “I’m comfortable using him in defensive situations, in overtime situations, in playmaking situations, in leadership situations, even handing off a responsibility, saying ‘Hey, would you take this responsibility and talk to your line about this or a young guy about this?’
“He’s pretty versatile and has a lot of experience. … There’s lots of ways that you can use and we can benefit from his experience, and he’s a very intelligent and intuitive guy.”
Mittelstadt has witnessed Skinner’s leadership firsthand. He got to know Skinner when the two were paired on a road trip early in Mittelstadt’s first full NHL season in 2018-19, and they developed a bond.
“He’s just there for all the guys,” Mittelstadt said. “You have a guy like that, who obviously is scoring and putting up the numbers but also putting in the work to have relationships with all the guys on the team and especially make the young guys feel welcome. I think that’s where maybe he’s pretty underrated. “
For Skinner, what has been built in the dressing room makes it easy to enjoy each day.
“The group here is obviously young and exciting,” he said. “There’s a lot of good personalities and that allows people to be themselves. I just enjoy coming to the rink, I enjoy being around the guys. And we’re playing a game, so you should be having fun. Obviously, there’s going to be ups and downs throughout the season, but for me, I try to keep sort of loose. Luckily for me, it kind of fits in well with the group here.”
On Wednesday, he and that group will play an important game, with a milestone awaiting him.
“I think it’s more of a reminder of everyone that’s helped me get to this point, and obviously, there’s a lot of people,” Skinner said of reaching 900 games. “… For me to play for as long as I have to this point, I’m grateful for that.”
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