Mike Harrington: Jeff Skinner is scoring, smiling and chirping. But when will he and the Sabres finally get to the playoffs?

There was 40 goals his first season, followed by the signing of an eight-year, $72 million in contract in 2019. Then came seasons of 14 and seven goals under former coach Ralph Krueger, which made the deal feel like only the worst extension in NHL history.

But things are different under Don Granato. Skinner is a first-line player again, a 33-goal scorer last season who could push 40 again.

And he's having fun, too.

This is a guy who opted for Miley Cyrus' "Party in the USA" as his personal goal song last season. Over the summer, Skinner played in an NHLPA ping-pong tournament in Toronto and threw the ceremonial first pitch at a Bisons game in Sahlen Field. Big wig and all, he did a stint as a fake TV reporter during last month's Sabres FanFest. Once training camp started, it was easy to see the smiling and laughing during practice. You can hear the chatterboxing that entertains his teammates and drives opponents batty.

"It's been great the way the team is developing with all the younger guys around," said Skinner, who turned 30 in May. "There's a lot of energy, a lot of guys looking to take take advantage of an opportunity in front of us and it's easy to feed off that kind of energy."

"I think he's got a little bit of a rat tendency inside of him. It's fun," said center and linemate Tage Thompson. "I always get a kick out of listening to him chirp and getting in guy's faces, too. I think he does a really good job of getting under guys' skin and it gets him really into games."

Skinner has driven offense in his time in Buffalo. Since arriving in 2018, he's 20th in the league in even-strength goals with 80, more than names such as Steven Stamkos, Sidney Crosby, Mitch Marner, Artemi Panarin and Alexander Barkov. Last season, he was 16th at even strength at 28 goals, and only 12 NHL players had 30 or more.

"He did it through work," Sabres assistant coach Matt Ellis said of Skinner's bounce-back 2021-22 season. "The environment that all of us are working to create is allowing guys to come in and do what they do best and 'Skins' is a perfect example of that.  He's the life of the locker room, he's the life of practice. ... He loves to compete, loves to play, loves to joke around when the time is right. When you have that level of calm and that level of relaxation, the love for the game truly comes out."

Skinner would like the chance to love the game on its ultimate stage, but that's yet to happen 12 years into his career. At 853 games without a playoff appearance, Skinner is by far the active leader in the NHL. Barring injury, he's in line come February to break the record of 907 games set by defenseman Ron Hainsey in 2017, when Hainsey was traded to Pittsburgh and won a Stanley Cup in his first trip to the postseason. 

If the Sabres don't make the playoffs this season – and it will be a heavy lift to snap the longest team drought in NHL history – Skinner will likely become the first player in league annals to get to 1,000 career games before reaching the postseason.

Skinner and I have talked previously about his personal non-playoff run and it's understandably a conversation killer. When chatting last week, his focus remained squarely on the Sabres as a whole.

"It's about taking pride in who we are as a team and there's a lot that encompasses that," he said. "It's who we are in the community, and what it would mean to fans. And while it will mean something to everyone individually, what it would mean to us as a group? The group is the thing. That's the goal every year. I think we're taking a lot of positive steps in the right direction."

Talk isn't cheap

It's pretty easy to go through YouTube and find some of Skinner's best hits from last season. In one game, a bunch of New York Rangers reached out from the bench to grab him after a hit on Jacob Trouba and Skinner's profane give-and-take with a referee made the rounds. 

In an April game against the New York Islanders, tough guy Matt Martin jumped Skinner at center ice and Thompson had to get in the fray to keep things calm.

"I think the Islanders probably had enough of his chirping and just getting in every scrum," said Thompson, who couldn't contain his laughter when recounting the story. "Enough was enough for them and that's OK. I think when you play with Jeff, you know that's kind of inevitable some games. Just gotta be ready."

"That game is the perfect example," added winger Victor Olofsson. "Their whole team's kind of coming after him. When he plays that way, he's at his best, too. He's an irritating guy for the other team."

"It's more kind of spur of the moment and emotion," Skinner said. "Like anything that's kind of emotional, sometimes it can go too far. But in terms of being positive for my game, I think that I know where the line is and how not to cross it."

One incident that went completely viral came in a November game against Seattle when Skinner and Kraken forward Brandon Tanev returned to the bench at the end of a shift and Tanev howled, "Skinner, you stink. How did you get that deal?"

That quote is a very sanitized version, by the way. Skinner's answer wasn't picked up by the hot mics, but it could have simply been how he had a better agent and a 40-goal season. In any case, he seemed to think Tanev hit below the belt.

"I don't like being the old guy talking about where the line is and what lines shouldn't be crossed," Skinner said. "But the way I was brought up when I came to the league, there were certain things you didn't say. Now, there's mics everywhere. Everyone sort of picks up everything. But to me, there's still sort of unwritten rules and some kind of respect factor that shouldn't be crossed."

Former Sabres captain and current St. Louis assistant Steve Ott, a master motormouth, once told me he did research on opponents' background to get in their heads during games. Skinner said he doesn't go that far.

"Some games, you're going to find have to find different ways to get into it," he said. "After an exchange with someone else, it can get your competitive juices flowing, get your adrenaline going."

"It's outstanding," a smiling Ellis said. "We talk about how we want competitive people and he's as competitive as they get. He is nonstop when he gets fired up."

Better bench feelings

When Carolina traded Skinner to the Sabres, Canes coach Rod Brind'Amour blasted Skinner out the door by saying, "You've got to come ready to play and do what we're asking. Otherwise you're not a Hurricane. We can't have you."

Skinner found solace playing under Phil Housley on Jack Eichel's left wing. But Krueger demanded more from Skinner defensively and took him off the top line. By the 2021 Covid season, Krueger embarrassed Skinner by scratching him for three games. Skinner wasn't good that year. Few Sabres were. But it seemed like an over-the-top move and was a key factor in Krueger losing the locker room.

Skinner had 30 assists last season, the most since his 2010-11 rookie year in Carolina. It's a big reason Thompson exploded for a 38-goal campaign.

"He's always been defined as a goal scorer, but I think he's an incredible playmaker, too," Thompson said. "He's just an all-around good hockey player. He's got a good sense of the game. It's not a surprise that he can make really good passes. And I think that's just something that gets overlooked a lot."

Skinner said Granato has the skills to teach the game and the ability to raise his players' confidence while doing it. 

"Those two things stick out. It's been real positive for me," Skinner said. "Every coach is different, personalities are different, how the team plays is different. As a player, you can't lose sight he has 23 guys to focus on. So it's not like every decision he makes is because of you or with you in mind."

"He progressively showed me things that I hadn't seen out of his game last year," Granato said. "Playmaking is one of them. Puck protection is another, the ability to extend possession long enough ... because he knows there's another play to be made."

And as for the chirping?

"When guys are in the zone ... you see that energy coming out of them," Granato said. "As an experienced NHL player now, he does a pretty good job of controlling it. Sometimes I have to remind him and snap him out of it, but it's a good thing."