RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 11: Buffalo Sabres Left Wing Jeff Skinner (53) charges after Carolina Hurricanes Center Sebastian Aho (20) during a game between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Buffalo Sabres at the PNC Arena in Raleigh, NC on January 11, 2019. (Photo by Greg Thompson/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

From the moment the Jeff Skinner trade was announced in early August many supporters of the Carolina Hurricanes voiced their displeasure. While the return on the trade remains to be seen, fans need to come to grips with the fact that Jeff Skinner is gone and is never coming back – yet the future of the organization is still in far better hands now.

It would be impossible to read a Carolina Hurricanes fan page or social media message board without some Canes fan posting Jeff Skinner‘s current stat line like some jilted lover festering over the success of their ex significant other. However like many jilted ex-lovers, these fans focused on the past will never realize what a great thing the current Carolina Hurricanes roster has in front of them in the likes of Sebastian Aho, and the deep roster of prospects waiting for their chance.

When the Skinner trade rumors began circulating around draft day and the realization that he had played his last game in Raleigh came to fruition, I posed this question to the fan base:

“Would you want to build your team around a player that through a seven year career only averaged 47 points a season?”

I asked that because that is what Jeff Skinner was during his time in Raleigh. In between the three 30 goal seasons he had seasons of 13 and 18 goals, and has only surpassed 30 assists once in his career.

Now while apologists have made, and will make, numerous excuses for his inconsistent and one-dimensional play (coaching, injuries, his line-mates, his use), only one thing remains consistent: that in Raleigh Jeff Skinner was wildly inconsistent. I would even go as far as to question his locker room presence and leadership ability due to the fact that he was one of the longer-tenured players on the Carolina Hurricanes’ roster, and did not even earn a letter full time until the 2017 season.

However, this piece was not designed to downplay Skinner’s contribution to the organization so much as it is to state that Skinner simply did not seize the opportunity to make the Carolina Hurricanes his team, and before he knew it his opportunity was seized by Sebastian Aho. The Carolina Hurricanes are much, MUCH better for it.

In order for you to understand where I am coming from, I am going to ask you to emotionally detach from the situation and look at the numbers. I have broken down Aho and Skinner’s career numbers up until the 42 game mark in the their third season; over that time Sebastian Aho edges Jeff Skinner in total points 159-131. While it should be noted that Jeff Skinner played 14 games less due to injuries in his second season, he would have to go on a 14 game point streak scoring 2 points per game in order to catch Sebastian Aho’s production.

These statistics do not even mention that in the current season Aho is playing his unnatural position of center, and maintains a 4 point edge in points (47 points to 43 points) all while playing with substandard line mates not named Teuvo Teravainen. The assist numbers alone are enough to seal the argument. Great players elevate those around them right? However, the fact at the same point in their career Aho holds an edge in both goals and assists speaks for itself.

What those numbers do not do is tell certain Carolina Hurricanes fans what they need to hear. That is, simply, that Jeff Skinner is gone and all the fawning over the numbers he is putting up in Buffalo alongside generational talent Jack Eichel only robs you of realizing that Carolina is in far better hands with Sebastian Aho. Couple that with the fact that Andrei Svechnikov is developing into a solid rookie, Teuvo Teravainen is Aho’s wing man, and Martin Necas is marinating in Charlotte and you realize the team is trending upward and will be better off in the long run without Skinner.

And none of this takes into account tonight’s astonishing game, where Aho totally destroyed the Nashville Predators with his second career hat-trick and an assist. He has already surpassed his rookie totals from 2016/17, and is surely only a matter of weeks away from setting new career highs in both goals and assists. This team is Sebastian Aho’s – and Canes fans need to forget Jeff Skinner now. We have a playoff race to win.