Free agency is just over a month away, and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July, while many teams also have key restricted free agents to re-sign. We start our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Sabres.
Key Restricted Free Agents
D Bowen Byram – The Sabres were hoping the 2019 fourth overall pick would fully establish himself as a top-pairing option in 2024-25 after acquiring him from the Avalanche at last year’s trade deadline. On most fronts, that’s what happened. After struggling through injuries in the early seasons of his career, he played a full 82 games for the first time and averaged a career-high 22:42 per game despite not receiving much power-play time. That also means 35 of his career-high 38 points came at even strength, tied for 15th in the league among defensemen. But with poor advanced metrics when lower in the lineup away from Rasmus Dahlin and a highly unbalanced ratio of lefties to righties on Buffalo’s blue line, they’ve been looking at possible trade options. Whether it’s in western New York or elsewhere, a long-term deal this summer for Byram should land him north of $7MM per season.
F JJ Peterka – In his first three seasons, Peterka has steadily upped his offensive output to an impressive 27-41–68 scoring line in 77 games in his first contract year. He did so primarily in top-line deployment with Tage Thompson. Yet with the Sabres still unable to find a postseason-caliber formula and Peterka in line for a huge raise this summer, he also finds himself in some trade speculation. A long-term deal for him will, like Byram’s, at least start at $7MM and could inch closer to $8MM per season given how consistently the 23-year-old has developed offensively thus far.
F Ryan McLeod – After the Sabres gave up high-end center prospect Matthew Savoie to acquire McLeod from the Oilers last summer, he justified Buffalo’s faith in him with a 20-goal, 53-point breakout in 79 games. Nearly all of that production came at even strength, too. He barely saw power-play time but was arguably the Sabres’ best two-way center in 2024-25, posting a +13 rating to rank second on the team while seeing significant penalty kill deployment. Given his all-around impact, he’ll likely land at least double his $2.1MM qualifying offer and could realistically approach the $5MM mark. With Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt gone in trades over the past few years and Thompson seeing increased time on the wing, they can’t afford to lose McLeod at center.
F Jack Quinn – The 2020 No. 8 pick was looking to get his feet back under him after Achilles surgery and a lower-body injury robbed him of most of his 2023-24 season. It didn’t pan out that way as a slow start led to a string of healthy scratches, but he did heat up with a 6-13–19 scoring line in 27 games after the 4 Nations Face-Off. That should at least help his case to earn another contract in Buffalo and get another chance at being part of the long-term future. Still, with how inconsistent he’s been thus far in his career, he likely isn’t in a position to command much more than $2MM per season on what could be as short as a one-year prove-it deal.
D Jacob Bernard-Docker – Acquired from the Senators in the Cozens/Joshua Norris deadline deal, the 2018 first-rounder looked to establish himself as an everyday lineup option down the stretch after a high ankle sprain derailed the first half of his season in Ottawa. He received strict third-pairing minutes but was quite effective in them, posting four points and a plus-three rating in 15 games for the Sabres with strong relative possession metrics (48.3 CF%, 57.9 xGF%, per Hockey Reference). He’s untested in top-four minutes, but he’s a big, defensively responsible righty the team sorely needed in their system. Expect Buffalo to try to negotiate a mid-term deal as a result, and pay a bit more to do so, potentially upward of the $2MM mark.
Other RFAs: D Erik Brännström, D Ryan Johnson, F Alexander Kisakov, F Tyson Kozak, G Devon Levi, F Bennett MacArthur, F Tyler Tullio
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
G James Reimer – The 37-year-old is the only pending unrestricted free agent who saw anything resembling consistent NHL minutes in 2024-25. After signing a one-year deal over the summer and briefly being lost on waivers to the Ducks for the first month of the season, he spent most of the season as Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s backup with the younger Levi struggling in his NHL chances. He made good on the Sabres’ $1MM bet, saving eight goals above expected in 24 appearances, per MoneyPuck. His .899 SV% and 2.90 GAA were far better than either Luukkonen’s or Levi’s numbers, and he was the only Buffalo goalie with a points percentage north of .500 with a 10-8-2 record. There might not be a role for him next year with Levi having another excellent AHL season, but it wouldn’t be surprising if the Sabres wanted to bring him back as insurance.
Other UFAs: D Kale Clague, F Mason Jobst, F Brett Murray (Group VI), D Jack Rathbone (Group VI), F Lukas Rousek (Group VI), G Felix Sandstrom
Projected Cap Space
For the first time in a while, the Sabres don’t have virtually unlimited cap space to work with. Handing out long-term deals to players they hoped would be long-term core pieces over the last few years is starting to take effect. While they do have $23.2MM in flexibility for next season and seven roster spots to fill, nearly all of that could be taken up by deals for Byram, Peterka, and McLeod if they opt to keep the first two and go long-term with both.
Photos courtesy of Timothy T. Ludwig-Imagn Images. Cap information courtesy of PuckPedia.
They do have options with the likes of Lafferty, Clifton and Samuelson to free up cap space. Lock up Byram, Peterka, Levi and McLeod. Cheaper depth options on defense can also be found to fill out the bottom of the roster. Quinn is a bridge deal candidate.
How or why Adams gave Greenway a $4mil AAV contract (including a raise) when he barely ever plays and his production was so minimal when he did is well beyond my comprehension.
Between Greenway and Tuch on the perimeter it will give Buffalo a advantage with size and reach to disrupt teams. Greenway had a injury riddled season but he is a bottom 6 player again with size and reach.