Skinner to Buffalo for Cliff Pu, 2019 2nd, 2020 3rd, 2020 6th
- Thread starter Deebo
- Start date
WhatIfGodWasALeaf
Active member
If they can get him to re-sign on a decent deal then this could be a highway robbery.
Deebo said:
That trade still baffles me from their perspective.
WhatIfGodWasALeaf
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
The best theory I saw tossed around was that the owners REALLY objected to his exit interview after they had made his indiscretions essentially disappear and flat out refused to hand him that signing bonus cheque.
I know that stinks of cutting your nose off to spite your face, but it?s the only real plausible explanation I?ve seen.
Frank E said:
I'd guess he's roughly a Bracco-level prospect (not comparing their playing styles, just their prospect value/upside).
Also, last season was split between 2 teams. He's played full seasons for 3 straight years.
herman
Well-known member
Cliff Pu was a nice pick by the Sabres in 2016. What he lacks in high end talent, he makes up for with hard work. He's a quick, average sized centre who will do whatever the team asks of him. Positionally sound, good shot, but hasn't put it all together to take it to the next level offensively. Likely tops out at 3C/RW in a checking role. His points totals in the OHL sort of exploded once he was out of Marner/Dvorak/Tkachuk's shadow, but he's clearly still a tier or two below. I'd say he's like Connor Brown with more of a pass-first mentality.
That said, this is not a great return for the Hurricanes.
That said, this is not a great return for the Hurricanes.
L K
Active member
CarltonTheBear said:
Although they added a young elite goal scorer for a pretty underwhelming package here. I get the confusion of the O?Reilly trade but if Carolina came to the Leafs and asked for a package cantered around a guy who probably maxes out as a good defensive 2nd line Center I?m jumping on that. Even with trading Oreilly the Sabres clearly aren?t trying to tank this year so this makes them better this year and if they can re-sign Skinner he?s a great piece to line up next to Eichel
L K said:
Oh yeah, I like Skinner and think the Sabres did great here. I said before I thought the Leafs should have looked at him. And at that price it's for sure a bit of a shame the Leafs couldn't get involved. I'm guessing his cap hit would have been an issue for us.
There's also word that Skinner was being very picky with his NTC, and rejected a couple trades to other teams. I'm sure that contributed to the Canes' lackluster return.
Bullfrog
Active member
Hard work can make up for talent when the high-end talent is extremely lazy, unmotivated, or otherwise impaired. When we're talking about the highest level of professional hockey, high-end talent wins......everytime. Someone with high-end talent can work just as hard as someone without high-end talent and there will be a gap that just can't be made up.
I know you like your feel-good stories (and that's great), but these athletes are high-end machines. "just trying harder" makes very little difference at this level.
I know you like your feel-good stories (and that's great), but these athletes are high-end machines. "just trying harder" makes very little difference at this level.