Is Jeff Skinner Worth the Trouble?
By Brett Finger
The Carolina Hurricanes drafted Jeff Skinner with the 7th overall pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft with the hopes that he would turn into the new franchise cornerstone like Eric Staal and Cam Ward were before him.
Jeff Skinner’s rookie season provided nothing but optimism for the Carolina Hurricanes. The then 18-year-old Skinner tallied 31 goals and 63 points, playing a full 82-game season in route to winning the Calder Trophy for the NHL’s rookie of the year.
Since then, the going has been rough for the young goal scorer and the Hurricanes. Since his rookie year, Skinner has just 84 goals and 152 points in 244 games. That equates to .62 points per game, which would be 50 points in an 82 game season. Those numbers alone for a young player like Skinner is not too alarming, especially considering his injury history, but it is the manner in which he has gotten these points that is concerning.
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Since his rookie year, Skinner has scored over 30 goals just once in 4 seasons, and that was last year. He scored 33 goals, most of which came during a hot run in December and January of that season. The year before that, in the 2013 lockout shortened year, he scored just 13 goals and was a -21 with 24 total points. In 2011-2012, his sophomore season in the league, he compiled 20 goals and 44 points in a season which was cut short by a concussion. He played just 64 games that year.
This year, Jeff Skinner has reached a new low when it comes to his goal and point total. He has 18 goals and 30 points in 67 games played while sporting a plus/minus of -21.
So, when you look at his career totals, you see a promising young forward, but when you look at each year individually and his concussion-plagued past, you see that there needs to be some concern here if you are the Carolina Hurricanes front office. It is also worth mentioning that he is due $6 million per year through the 2018-2019 season.
Luckily, for Jeff Skinner, the concussion issue has faded away as of late, which is good, but his level of play has also faded away.
For $6 million, under half a point per game will not cut it, especially considering that he is no defensive dynamo, which is represented by his team-worst plus/minus. Despite this, there is still one promising thing in his game that a guy like Alexander Semin can not always say. He is still throwing the puck on the net. A lot.
With 208 shots, Jeff Skinner is just 7 shots back of Eric Staal for the team-lead in shots on goal this season. Even though this is good, he is scoring on just 8.7% of his shots, which ranks 8th on the team, behind the team’s shot leader in Staal.
The lack of success in shooting percentage can be attributed to a lot of things, and bad luck is one of them. Another factor may be that his shots are not always of high-quality, and I think that is valid.
Skinner tends to take a lot of perimeter slap shots on the rush that have very low chances of going in. Utilizing his dangerous hands and his deadly, quick release would likely be a better option for him, but that is easy for me to say on the outside looking in.
A big thing for Skinner is just gaining confidence and doing what he does best, which is going to the net, making quick moves, and taking good, quick shots. He also needs to be a much bigger presence on the powerplay. At this point in the season, 4 powerplay goals just is not enough for a guy with his level of skill.
So, is Jeff Skinner worth the trouble? In short, I think you can not give up on him yet, but that being said, I think the front office still needs to be fair, and if other teams have offers for him, why not listen to them? That same thing goes for nearly every other player on the team, if you’re in a situation like the Carolina Hurricanes are in, don’t you have to be open to all options? I think so.
Jeff Skinner is still a rare talent. Giving him time to adjust his game to Bill Peters’ system and adding more talent around him in the future can turn out to be a very good thing for him and the Carolina Hurricanes, but at some point, if he still has not found his game, things can turn ugly.
Skinner is young, talented, and has an incredibly high ceiling if he is in the right situation. If the Hurricanes can continue to build and get the right team, coaching staff, and front office in place, the future will be bright in Carolina.