Sharpen Up: August 6, 2018

The Sabres acquired a top-line left wing last week when general manager Jason Botterill traded for Jeff Skinner.
But that's not all that happened last week.
Here's what you need to know.

Getting to know Skinner

Buffalo sent prospect Cliff Pu and three draft picks (a second-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, a third-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft) to Carolina for Skinner, who is entering the final year of his contract.
Here's what we took away from conference calls with Skinner and Botterill:
With a full no-movement clause in his contract, Skinner had the final say regarding potential destinations as the Carolina Hurricanes shopped him over the course of the offseason. The Buffalo Sabres were a destination he told management he'd approve.
Why Buffalo? The proximity to his family and friends in Toronto was a bonus, he admitted, but his decision had more to do with the cast of people who would be surrounding him with the Sabres, from ownership to his new teammates.
"I think my focus is winning and having a good season, and right now coming into camp and being as prepared as possible to sort of start on the right foot," Skinner said. "That's the top thing. I think you look at the young core, the management, the ownership, and all these things that I touched on, those things are sort of at the top of your list."
Skinner should be in position to succeed alongside one of Buffalo's two dynamic young centers in Jack Eichel and Casey Mittelstadt, both of whom - like their new winger - can move up the ice with speed. Skinner is an established goal scorer, having topped the 30-goal mark three times already in his career.
Read more on Skinner's decision here.

Since the conclusion of last season and over the course of a busy summer, Botterill has been forthcoming when assessing the Buffalo Sabres. Among the areas he's mentioned as needing to improve: depth on the wing, speed, even-strength scoring and, in a broader sense, the culture in the dressing room.
Listening to Botterill speak on Thursday night, it was evident that he believes Buffalo's latest acquisition checks all those boxes. The Sabres acquired forward Jeff Skinner from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for prospect Cliff Pu, a second-round pick in 2019, and third- and sixth-round picks in 2020.
One word stood out as Botterill discussed the deal with the media: consistent.
"I respect his work ethic a lot off the ice, just his professionalism, how he goes about handling himself," Botterill said. "He comes to camp in great shape, a true professional from that standpoint.
"… He's a consistent goal scorer in the National Hockey League. He creates a lot of chances at even strength and I think he's really going to complement our talented centers."
We have the full story with more of Botterill's comments here.

Prospects Challenge set for Sept. 7-10

Tickets are on sale now for the team's annual Prospects Challenge from Sept. 7 to 10 at Harborcenter.
The Sabres will be joined by the Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins to compete in a round-robin challenge featuring prospects from each team. The participating teams will each play three games during the course of the event, which will be held entirely at Harborcenter.
Tickets for the games are $10 and are available for purchase in person at the KeyBank Center Box Office, by phone at 1-888-223-6000 or by clicking here.
This is the full game schedule for the Prospects Challenge:

Friday, Sept. 7
• Pittsburgh vs. Boston, 3:30 p.m.
• Buffalo vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 8
• New Jersey vs. Pittsburgh, 3:30 p.m.
• Buffalo vs. Boston, 7 p.m.
Monday, Sept. 10
• Boston vs. New Jersey, 9:30 a.m.
• Buffalo vs. Pittsburgh, 12:30 p.m.
If anything, Rasmus Dahlin is ready.

Summer showcase

Prospects Mattias Samuelsson (United States), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (Finland) and Oskari Laaksonen (Finland) competed in the World Junior Summer Showcase last week in Kamloops, British Columbia, a tournament filled with hopefuls for December's World Junior Championship.
Samuelsson, Buffalo's second-round pick in this year's draft, impressed NHL.com's Adam Kimmelman, who included the defenseman in his list of the Top 10 players at the showcase.
The 18-year-old had one assist in five games, but his forte is using his size (6-4, 218), strength and long stick to eliminate attacking forwards and transition play the other way.
U.S. coach Mike Hastings was a fan, saying, "Steady. Unassuming. Reliable. Us boring guys kind of like that. … I appreciate him more and more every day."
Laaksonen (2017, third round) earned an honorable mention. In other news, Luukkonen (2017, second round), will be between the pipes for Sudbury of the Ontario Hockey League this upcoming season. It will be his first year playing in North America.

NHL.com's 31 in 31

NHL.com is pumping out their #31in31 team profiles each day this month and Buffalo was up on Saturday.

Season Outlook: "We're excited about the mix we have," Botterill said. "To me, all 31 teams go into the season believing they can be in the playoffs. … I think that hope is realistic."
3 Questions: Goaltending, Okposo and depth at center are the topics of conversation
Top 5 Prospects: No surprise that Rasmus Dahlin headlines the list.
Fantasy Preview: What kind of production can we expect from the potential top line of Skinner, Eichel and Reinhart?
Key Stats: Looking at the impact Dahlin and Eichel could have next season