[Poe969]

Skinner is a good player with tons of skill, no one is doubting that. He has skill. The one thing that seems to be in debate here is his value. To some teams he'd have a lot of value because of his skill despite his size and injury risk but to other teams, like the Flames who have a few small players with skill and don't really need any more let alone one with a high risk of injury, he has less value. Ferland is a player that the Flames need as he's that physical agitator who can still play the game and not look out of place playing with most guys on the team. If Ferland were on a different team like say the ducks who have a lot of physical players, they'd do a Ferland for Skinner trade in a heartbeat. The Flames are lacking size so trading away a good physical (and fan favourite after the playoffs) player when they don't have many would be a mistake.

If this was a no body contact league, I'd take Skinner over Ferland without a doubt. The Flames just need Ferland more at this point. If the Hurricanes decide to trade Skinner, they'll get a lot more than one player like Ferland...they just won't get it from the Flames. For some reason, I could see him being a fit on a team like the BJ's.