Signing a three-year, $10MM contract with the Buffalo Sabres shortly after the market opened on July 1st, defenseman Connor Clifton had no shortage of offers. In an article from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, he passes along a note from Clifton’s agent, Eric Quinlan, that the defenseman had as many as 10 offers, one of which was for a longer-term and higher AAV than what he eventually signed in Buffalo.
It’s not difficult to ascertain why Clifton ultimately picked the Sabres as his landing spot, as they are considered one of the most exciting upstart teams in all of hockey. Clifton ultimately brings what the organization needs. The Sabres were great offensively last season, illustrated by their 3.57 GF/G (third in NHL), but they struggled defensively, finishing 27th in the league in GA/G with a 3.62 mark.
Clifton is most known for his skill on the defensive side of the puck, but he did produce better offensively with the Boston Bruins last season, scoring five goals and 18 assists in 78 games. His defensive attributes will be more of what the Sabres are expecting on this deal, as Clifton’s career oiSV% (Team On-Ice Save Percentage in All Situations) of 92.4% will dramatically help the team keep the puck out of their net.
Other snapshots:
- In a very heartwarming story, Joe Smith of The Athletic reports that Minnesota Wild prospect, Pavel Novak, is now completely cancer-free. Unfortunately, he will not participate in the team’s development camp due to a lower-body injury, but beating cancer is a big enough victory in and of itself. Novak was originally drafted 146th overall in the 2020 NHL Draft, last playing competitive hockey during the 2021-22 season with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL. In that last full year of play, Novak impressed at the junior level, scoring 72 points in 62 games.
- The Toronto Marlies filled out a good majority of their roster today, announcing one-year extensions for Matthew Hellickson, Tommy Miller, Matteo Pietroniro, Zach Solow, and Keenan Suthers. Of the group, Suthers is the only player that did not feature for the Marlies last season, as the rest of the players will likely be used mostly as depth next season.
Sounds like we’re happy to have this guy. Well let’s count our blessings. The cookie crumbles our way sometimes but it’s rare. Could this be the year? Go Sabres !!
I’ve suffered 30 years with the Warriors till they became good and probably 25 years with the Red Sox in the ’80s and the 90s until they won a couple of times. Maybe now it’s the Sabres time of ending the massive drought? Sure would be nice and admittedly it’s headed in that direction right now.
Warrior, Red Sox and Sabres interesting combination
i agree with padres fan. warriors, red sox, sabres. how does one find himself with such an eclectic mix? and is there an nfl team of a similar vein?
Grew up in Victoria British Columbia Canada. The game of the week Saturday afternoon hooked me on baseball and it was the Red Sox and the Yankees 1978. My brother went Yankees I went Red Sox and it was 25 years of crap after that lol. But hope every year because they do spend a little money.
Warriors because I lived in the SF Bay Area in the ’80s. Run TMC was exciting but then 25 years of crap until Curry came along, with the exception of course of 2007 We Believe team.
Hockey was my first love of course in Canada but for some reason did not want to follow the nearby Vancouver canucks. Not sure why. Watched the 75 finals (fog game) on TV and pulled for the underdog. And you know how it is once you like a team you can’t give up on them. So a few flashes of success with the Sabres and great goaltending over the years but no championships. Oh well one day.
I don’t really follow pro or college football so no dog in the race. Thanks for asking.
Are the both of you Sabres fans or just following the hockey news and free agent stuff?
Clifton played under Granato for a month when he was younger.
that Clifton deal could look very good
Coming from a Bruins fan, I must tell you that Clifton cant be relied upon in a top 4 role. He is good in a sheltered bottom pairing role, but proceeds to make tons of mistakes come playoff time when his role expands. Good luck.