Buffalo Sabres setting a course in free agency
Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News: Again, the idea for the Buffalo Sabres is to let many players walk. The qualifying offer deadline is Wednesday at 5:00 pm ET. Kevyn Adams traded for Eric Staal which addresses his second-line center issue. Now, the general manager works on everything else.
Needs include a goaltender, several forwards, and at least one or two defensemen. Also, do not expect Sam Reinhart or Rasmus Dahlin to sign an extension. That will wait a year. The idea is to trade for another forward — maybe a Nino Niederreiter to further help Jeff Skinner. Suddenly, Buffalo would have a top-six that could make noise.
Add a few veterans and maybe a goaltender to compliment Linus Ullmark and Buffalo has the makings of a much improved team. Spending to around $74 million gives Adams cap flexibility to add at the deadline. This allows Buffalo to keep Casey Middelstadt, Dominik Kahun, and Tage Thompson in development at Rochester.
Looking into the Buffalo Sabres’ free agent past
John Vogl of The Athletic: Mostly, other than Kyle Okposo, Buffalo general managers have not made that big splash. Marcus Johansson was signed on July 6th last year for a mid-level amount. Free agency became a time to fill holes with cheaper options.
Carter Hutton has not worked out the way Buffalo hoped. Consider his $2.75 million AAV was believed to be a steal in 2018. Hutton finished the year before with a sparkling .930 save percentage and a 17-7-3 mark. 2017 watched Jason Botterill fill his AHL roster more than anything. They did make the AHL playoffs but NHL impacts were next to nothing.
The aforementioned Okposo was signed in 2016 and has not cracked the 20 goal barrier since. Out of the 27 signings, 18 have been at or near the league minimum.
The left defense position expects to be filled going the cheaper route. Maybe an Andy Greene or Gavin Bayreuther. Jon Merrill may be one to watch as well here. Then there are the left wingers. Kyle Rau needs to show his worth.
On the right side, Tyler Toffoli, Mike Hoffman, and Evgenii Dadonov could be higher priced splashes. Austin Czarnik would be the best cheaper choice.
As for goalies, who knows? Buffalo likely goes cheaper here as well.
