Maple Leafs miss out on potential free-agent steal

The Toronto Maple Leafs performed a major roster turnover this summer. New general manager John Chayka went ahead and added several new players to scatter throughout the Leafs' lineup next season and for new head coach Jim Hiller to try and work with to get back into the playoffs.

But, there is one player that has potentially slipped through the cracks after the frenzy of free agency has calmed down, and he's now off to Europe instead of staying in the NHL.

Jeff Skinner might not be the same player he was throughout his 20s, dancing around defenses and scoring 30 goals fairly regularly, but there was still some skill left in his hands at the age of 34, and now the Toronto, Ont. native had to settle for continuing his hockey career overseas.

Announced by the team on Friday morning, Skinner has signed a one-year deal with EHC Biel-Bienne of the top division in Switzerland.

It's a perfectly reasonable path to go down. Wrap up your playing days by living in one of the most beautiful countries in the world, and playing at a level where you can probably still be one of the best players in the league. Heck, maybe win a trophy or two along the way to make some Swiss people love you.

But it's a somewhat disheartening result after Skinner couldn't rejuvenate his NHL career. He terminated his contract with the San Jose Sharks in the middle of last season and never found another team for the last few months of the season. And now six weeks into free agency, he's decided to take the big leap over to Europe.

Jeff Skinner could have been a solid bet in free agency

While it would not have been perfect and it is still a gamble, Skinner could have easily been a type of player that the Leafs take an easy gamble on just to see if he can maybe be in a third-line scoring role. Or, maybe even rekindle some magic in his mitts to be a top-six winger once again and a pure shooter on the wing of John Tavares and Matthew Knies, for example.

In 32 games with the Sharks last season, Skinner scored six goals and 13 points all while averaging just over 12 minutes per game. In Edmonton the year prior, he played 72 games and scored 16 goals and 29 points, but again had ice-time issues as he averaged just 13 minutes per game. It was just three seasons ago in 2022-23, where Skinner scored 35 goals and 82 points in 79 games for the Sabres -- and that was after a 33-goal campaign the year before that.

He was once one of the most consistent even-strength scorers in the world and no one really paid attention to it. He's not the most all-around talent ever, but if you give him some sheltered minutes, then it could have worked out.

Especially on this new Leafs lineup, where the likes of Colton Sissons and Nick Paul and Teddy Blueger are going to be taking a lot of the defensive responsibility away from Auston Matthews, so that he can score a billion goals again. If the captain is going to be starting a lot of his shifts in the offensive zone, why wouldn't the Leafs conjure up some plan that could include Skinner?

It's not a massive mistake but it feels like a missed opportunity to at least find out if there's something left.

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