Looking at some decisions for the Sabres for next offseason
John Vogl of The Athletic: Looking towards next offseason, it could be a hard one for Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams.
They may be hoping to be able to re-sign forward Taylor Hall.
RFAs who’ll need new contracts include Rasmus Dahlin, Sam Reinhart and Henri Jokiharju. Qualifying the three would cost $7.14 million but they’ll be looking for more.
The Sabres will also have to address their goaltending as they won’t have any NHL goaltenders on their roster.
The salary cap will be flat for the 2021-22 season at $81.5 million. They currently have 11 players under contract at a $36.63 million cap hit.
Projected 2021-22 Lineup
Skinner-Eichel-Reinhart
Olofsson-Cozens-Thompson
?-Eakin-?
Girgensons-Lazar-Okposo
Dahlin-Ristolainen
?-Jokiharju
?-Miller
Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonan should be NHL ready. He’ll need to find another goaltender.
Comparables for a Dahlin extension could be Thomas Chabot ($8 million per), Ivan Provorov ($6.75 million), Sam Girard and Zach Werenski ($5 million).
A Jokiharju comparable could be Brandon Carlo ($2.85 million).
After this season, Reinhart will be one-year away from unrestricted free agency. They’ll need to decide whether to commit long-term.
Expansion draft and free agents for the Maple Leafs
James Mirtle of The Athletic: Guessing the Toronto Maple Leafs could lose one of Alex Kerfoot, Justin Holl or Travis Dermott in the expansion draft. It’s possible that if the Leafs wanted to protect one of them, they could add an asset for Seattle Kraken GM Ron Francis to not select a specific player.
Both Frederik Andersen and Zach Hyman will be unrestricted free agents after next season, with Dermott being an RFA. If Jack Campbell plays like he deserves more playing time, they could look for a cheaper Andersen replacement and use the cap space to upgrade in other areas.
Key 2021 UFAs – Andersen, Hyman, Joe Thornton, Wayne Simmonds, Mikko Lehtonen, Zach Bogosian, Jimmy Vesey, Jason Spezza.
The Leafs may need to add a goalie, and two forwards with one being able to play in the top nine.