Offseason Checklist: Buffalo Sabres
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that weren’t playoff-bound plus those that were eliminated early in the postseason. It’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Buffalo.
It wasn’t a great year in the standings but things are looking up for the Sabres. The team was much more competitive in Don Granato’s first season behind the bench and several of their young players made promising strides to show that brighter days could soon be on the horizon. With that in mind, Buffalo’s checklist looks a bit different than it has in recent years as they should now begin the process of trying to add talent and emerge from their rebuild.
Sign A Veteran Goalie
At the moment, Buffalo has six goaltenders under contract. Once the calendar flips to the new league year in July, that number drops to zero. GM Kevyn Adams will be busy on that front, to say the least, both in terms of NHL and AHL signings. Let’s look at the NHL situation here.
It’s widely expected that Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will be promoted from the minors to fill one of the two spots with Buffalo as he continues his development and the team continues to evaluate whether or not he’ll be the goalie of the future for them. But the most games he has played in any of his professional seasons is 44. Between that and the fact he has just 13 NHL appearances under his belt, it’s safe to say that he’s not yet ready to assume the true starting role.
As a result, Adams will be looking for a veteran that is capable of playing more than a typical backup role. A short-term starter would make some sense or failing that, a platoon netminder to split time with Luukkonen would also work. Craig Anderson is among Buffalo’s pending unrestricted free agents and it seems like re-signing the 41-year-old would be their preference as he fit in quite well in his first season with Buffalo. It’s questionable if he can hold up under a higher workload than the 31 games he played in 2021-22 so if he is their choice, a veteran third-stringer to stash at AHL Rochester certainly would make some sense.
Decide Olofsson’s Future
Victor Olofsson has had an up-and-down tenure with Buffalo so far. After a surprise showing in his rookie season that saw him put up 20 goals and 22 assists in just 54 games, the two sides settled on a bridge contract, a reasonable course of action. The first year didn’t go well and for the majority of this season, things weren’t much better. At the end of February, he had just seven goals in 44 games and looked like he could be heading for non-tender territory.
But once March hit, the 26-year-old suddenly rediscovered his scoring touch, potting 13 goals along with 12 assists in the final 28 games. While the usual caveat about reading too much into production when a team is well out of playoff contention certainly applies, Olofsson may have shown enough to warrant another contract.
If that’s the case, what is the right deal? This is Olofsson’s final year of RFA eligibility so it’s not as if they can work out a short-term pact and then re-assess before he’s UFA-eligible. With him being unrestricted no matter what, a one-year contract isn’t ideal from Buffalo’s perspective while finding common ground on a long-term deal could be tricky given the year-to-year variability in his performance.
Olofsson is owed a $3.25MM qualifying offer and has arbitration eligibility this summer. With a little over six weeks until qualifiers are due, Adams will need to make a decision on this front sooner than later.
Add Defensive Help
At the moment, Buffalo has just three defensemen signed for next season that are locks to make the opening roster. They’re all aged 22 or younger in Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju, and Owen Power. That’s a solid cluster of young impact blueliners that are going to be around for a little while but they need some veteran support.
This is something that the Sabres haven’t really tried to address in recent years which is understandable with the team clearly more interested in being at the bottom of the standings than the top over that stretch. Doing so allowed Dahlin and Jokiharju to log heavy minutes and play through some mistakes.
However, assuming their plan is to start to push forward with trying to get back to the playoffs after missing the postseason for an 11th straight year, they need some veterans capable of logging heavy minutes to work with these three. In an ideal world, they find three of them, one to partner with each youngster which would allow someone like Mattias Samuelsson to see more AHL action.
That said, adding three impact blueliners would be a tall task for any team, especially since there aren’t a lot of them available in free agency this summer. With more than ample cap space though, this seems like an area where Adams should have the green light to bid aggressively. Three would be perfect, two would be nice, but one is simply a necessity if they want to help their goalies and more importantly, help their young rearguards find another level in their development.
Thompson Extension Talks
The first season of Tage Thompson’s bridge contract didn’t go well as he put up just 14 points in 38 games in 2020-21. Heading into this season, expectations were quite low as a result. If he could lock down a full-time spot and play with some consistency, it likely would have been viewed as a success.
But what the 24-year-old did in 2021-22 was far beyond realistic expectations, likely beyond even the most optimistic projections for Thompson as he put up 38 goals and 30 assists. That goal total put him 19th in the entire league while he also made the transition to playing down the middle. While it took several years, Thompson certainly showed the offensive promise that made him a first-round pick back in 2016.
Thompson’s timing for his offensive outburst was pretty optimal as well as he’s eligible to sign a contract extension once free agency opens up in mid-July and he officially enters the final year of his deal. If Adams and the Sabres believe that Thompson’s performance is a sign of things to come, they will almost certainly try to work out an extension this summer as anything close to a repeat performance in 2022-23 will only drive the asking price higher. Meanwhile, after being a depth player for the first few years of his career, the prospect of a big money, long-term extension might appeal to Thompson. This is something that doesn’t have to happen but it wouldn’t be surprising to see both sides take a run at an extension in the coming months.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Oliver Ekman-Larsson Suffers Fractured Foot At World Championship
It was a disappointing World Championship on a couple of fronts for Vancouver defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Sweden blew a 3-0 lead in the third period to Canada on Thursday before falling in overtime and to add to that frustration, he was also injured as the Canucks announced (Twitter link) that he suffered a foot fracture in the tournament.
The veteran blueliner had a fairly quiet first season in Vancouver after coming over in a trade back at the draft last summer. He picked up 29 points in 79 games, his lowest point per game average since his rookie year back in 2010-11. Regardless, Ekman-Larsson still played over 22 minutes a game, second on the team to only Quinn Hughes while also taking a regular turn on both the power play and penalty kill. He was similarly quiet at the Worlds, collecting just a pair of assists for Sweden in their six games while logging 19:20 per contest, third among their blueliners.
Fortunately for Ekman-Larsson and the Canucks, the recovery time for this injury is four to six weeks which means while his offseason training will be interrupted, he should be fully recovered by the time training camp rolls around in September. Vancouver will likely be icing a similar back end to the one they had this season so they’ll be counting on Ekman-Larsson to have a bounce-back season in 2022-23.
Blues Assign Charlie Lindgren To AHL
While the season has come to an end for the Blues, at least one player will play on for a little while longer as goaltender Charlie Lindgren has been sent back to Springfield of the AHL, per the AHL’s transactions log. He had been serving as the backup to Ville Husso after Jordan Binnington was injured earlier in their second-round series against Colorado.
The 28-year-old had his best professional campaign this season, posting a 2.21 GAA and a .925 SV% in 34 games with the Thunderbirds, both career bests. On top of that, he also impressed in his limited NHL action, putting up a stellar 1.22 GAA with a .958 SV% in five appearances with St. Louis, numbers that had some wondering if the Blues might have considered giving Lindgren a chance against Colorado over sticking with Husso. But with just 29 career NHL games under his belt, sticking with Husso certainly made sense.
Lindgren will now have a chance to reclaim the starting job with the Thunderbirds as they look to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals against his former team in Laval, the affiliate of the Canadiens. With a good finish to his AHL playoffs plus his performance during the regular season, Lindgren should have a strong market this summer in unrestricted free agency as a veteran third-string goaltender that can be called on to make a few NHL starts when injuries arise.
East Notes: Flyers, Ruotsalainen, Beaulieu
The Flyers are expected to interview Jim Montgomery for their vacant head coaching position next week, reports Sam Carchidi of Philly Hockey Now. Montgomery has been an assistant in St. Louis since 2020 and with the Blues being eliminated last night, teams can now talk to him about their coaching vacancies. Montgomery has some NHL head coaching experience under his belt having coached Dallas for parts of two seasons before being let go for unprofessional conduct which he later revealed was related to his battle with alcoholism. John Tortorella and Barry Trotz are among those that are believed to have already interviewed for Philadelphia’s vacant position.
Elsewhere in the East:
- Following Rochester’s elimination in the AHL, Sabres winger Arttu Ruotsalainen told reporters, including Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, that his intention is to re-sign with Buffalo and not go to the Swiss League as has been previously suggested. Assistant GM Jason Karmanos also stated a desire to keep the 24-year-old in the fold. Ruotsalainen, who will be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility this summer, had four points in 18 games with Buffalo this season but was quite productive in the minors, notching 51 points in 57 contests while tying for the team lead in playoff scoring.
- After acquiring Nathan Beaulieu at the trade deadline, Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review suggests it’s likely that the defenseman will leave the Penguins without ever suiting up for them. Pittsburgh picked him for a conditional draft pick that they ultimately retained as the conditions weren’t met. Beaulieu was added as injury insurance for the playoffs and while he was close to suiting up, he wound up being a healthy scratch in the postseason after being activated off LTIR. The 29-year-old will be an unrestricted free agent this summer and after playing in just 24 games with Winnipeg this season while averaging less than 11 minutes a game, it’s unlikely the 2011 first-rounder will be able to command much more than the minimum salary.
Joe Thornton Undecided About His Playing Future
With the Panthers being eliminated earlier this week, the speculation about Joe Thornton’s playing future has already started. Speaking with reporters today including NHL.com’s Alain Poupart, the veteran indicated that it’s too early to know if he’ll return for a 25th NHL season:
I haven’t put any thought into it at all right now. I think it’s still so quick. I wasn’t expecting that. It took me by surprise, so I’m sure I’ll talk with the family and see what our plan is next. I haven’t decided if I’m going to play or not, but we’ll talk and see how everybody’s feeling about it. We’ll see.
The 43-year-old signed with Florida early in free agency last summer but had a very limited role throughout the season when he was healthy enough to play. He missed 20 games due to injuries and was a scratch for another 28, resulting in a career-low 34 appearances where he managed just five goals and five assists while averaging just 11:09 per game, also a career-low. Thornton’s usage was even more limited in the playoffs as he played just once – the last game of the Tampa Bay series.
While Thornton is far from the All-Star player he was in his prime, he has a reputation for being a strong positive presence in the dressing room which likely played a role in Florida signing him last summer. It’s also worth noting that he’s within striking distance of the all-time games played record set by long-time teammate Patrick Marleau; Thornton is 65 appearances away from equaling that mark. A fully healthy season in 2022-23 could give him a realistic shot at setting the new standard.
At this point of his career, Thornton is going to be limited to a contract that’s basically at or around the minimum salary of $750K and he has signed minimum-salary deals the last two years. Accordingly, there’s no real rush for him to make a decision; the types of offers he might have a shot at early in free agency will still be there at any other point of the offseason. While many may want to know what’s next for Thornton, that decision may not be coming for a while.
Offseason Checklist: Detroit Red Wings
The offseason has arrived for half of the league’s teams that weren’t playoff-bound plus some that were eliminated early in the playoffs. It’s time to examine what they will need to accomplish over the coming months. Next up is a look at Detroit.
It has been a rough few seasons for the Red Wings. After their streak of 25 straight playoff appearances came to an end in 2017, they haven’t seen the playoffs since then. They have brought in several promising youngsters in recent years and the expectation is that they’ll soon get back to battling for a playoff spot at a minimum. With that in mind, their summer checklist is more geared towards win-now moves compared to recent years.
Hire A Head Coach
First things first. After parting ways with Jeff Blashill, who had been one of the longer-tenured coaches in the league, Detroit now needs a new bench boss for the first time since 2015 when Mike Babcock left for Toronto. Blashill’s tenure wasn’t overly successful in terms of his record (204-261-72) but with the team going through a reset, it wasn’t as much of a concern. But now with an expectation of more on-ice success, GM Steve Yzerman decided now is the right time for a change.
With that in mind, it will be interesting to see what direction they go. Are they looking for someone that is going to help them get back to the playoffs first and foremost or are they hoping for a longer-term fit? The two don’t have to be mutually exclusive but the first category opens up the ability to hire a veteran coach who can get quick results but who typically has a short shelf life, giving them some extra options to consider. On the other hand, if Yzerman is looking for a long-term fit, then the potential for a first-time hire stands out a bit more.
Either way, getting a coach in place well before the summer transactions get underway will be important as whoever takes the job will likely want to provide some input on what else the Red Wings do this summer.
Extension Talks
Two of Detroit’s top players will be eligible for contract extensions once free agency opens up in July in Dylan Larkin and Tyler Bertuzzi. Larkin, their captain, has been on a bargain contract for the past four seasons with a $6.1MM AAV, a price tag that’s below market value for a number one center. That will certainly change on his next contract as recent comparables will likely push his price tag over the $8MM mark per season. There’s no doubt that Yzerman will want to extend the Michigan native and keep him in the fold, especially since they don’t have an up-and-coming number one center behind him. In Tampa Bay, Yzerman’s talks with captain Steven Stamkos went right down to the wire. In an ideal world, that doesn’t happen so they’re likely to try to hammer something out this summer.
As for Bertuzzi, while he was in the headlines for not being able to play in Canada due to his vaccination status, that overshadowed a career year that saw him set career highs in goals (30) and assists (32) in 68 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes a night. That’s top-line production at a $4.75MM price tag which is also well below market value. Bertuzzi is a couple of years older than Larkin but at 27, he’s still young enough to be part of the core. This summer, Yzerman needs to find out what Bertuzzi’s asking price is to see if it fits within their future salary structure. If not, his name could be in trade speculation soon after.
Reshape The Back End
Detroit’s back end got a big lift this season with the arrival of Moritz Seider who is a very strong contender to win the Calder Trophy as the top rookie next month. However, their defense corps has been a weak spot for the past several seasons and will need to be addressed this offseason.
Long-time rearguard Danny DeKeyser is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer and is unlikely to return unless it’s at a very steep discount. Marc Staal is also a pending UFA and while he’s not the higher-end shutdown player he was in his prime, he still filled a stable stay-at-home role for the Red Wings over the last couple of years. He could be back but would need to be replaced if he doesn’t return.
At the moment, there are only three other regular defensemen signed for next season beyond Seider – Filip Hronek, Gustav Lindstrom, and Jordan Oesterle. Hronek had a tough year in his own end but has some trade value if they decide to shake things up while Lindstrom and Oesterle are better as depth pieces. So, too, are recent signing Steven Kampfer and pending RFAs Olli Juolevi and Jake Walman. Beyond Hronek, none of those players should be in impact roles next season.
Detroit will have another top youngster coming to North America in 2022-23 in Simon Edvinsson and while he has shown plenty of promise, it’s hard to expect he’ll come in and suddenly solve all of their defensive issues. Adding an impact veteran (if not two) will be needed to help shore up a group that allowed the third-most goals in the league this season and help take some pressure off the goaltenders. Fortunately, they have over $35MM in cap space at their disposal so they can afford to shop at the higher end of the market this summer.
Find A New Second Goalie
Speaking of their goalies, Detroit needs to find a second goaltender to partner with Alex Nedeljkovic. Thomas Greiss had a particularly tough season and is unlikely to be retained while Calvin Pickard, their third-string option, is also a pending UFA and isn’t really in the mix for an NHL spot either. Magnus Hellberg signed late in the year but he’s more of a viable third-string option than a strong contender for the backup spot.
As usual, there are several Greiss-like goalies available, veterans that can be signed for a year or two to continue the platoon and maintain the status quo. Alternatively, a handful of netminders could be moved this summer that could be plausible platoon options as well.
That said, are the Red Wings better off looking for a longer-term option? Darcy Kuemper still has a few years as a starter left in him while Ville Husso and Jack Campbell have both shown flashes and are young enough to be around for a while. While Detroit has Sebastian Cossa, a prospect they have high hopes for, it typically takes a few years for a goaltender to be NHL-ready. Instead of continuing to churn through goalies for short-term fixes, perhaps a longer-term solution that serves as a bridge to Cossa is a better way for them to go this summer. Either way, they will need a new netminder in the next couple of months.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Salary figures courtesy of CapFriendly.
Islanders Sign Ruslan Iskhakov
Islanders prospect Ruslan Iskhakov has had an interesting journey over the last few years but he has secured his first NHL deal as CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that the 21-year-old has signed a two-year, entry-level contract. The deal carries a cap hit of $855K and an AAV of $925K.
The forward spent his draft-eligible season playing in Russia but had committed to playing in college at UConn just days before the draft. As a result, he became subject to the four-year rule which meant that New York had until only next Wednesday to get him under contract even though his college days had already ended.
Iskhakov spent just two years in college before deciding to turn pro, signing with TPS Turku in Finland in 2020. He was quite productive in the Liiga, notching 38 points in 54 games but once again opted for a change of scenery for this season when he decided to play with Adler Mannheim in Germany. Iskhakov was similarly productive, albeit in limited action due to injury, as he put up seven goals and 15 assists in just 25 games, a good enough performance to convince the Islanders to sign him after he was granted his release from his German league contract earlier this month.
While he has spent two seasons in the pros overseas, it would be surprising to see Iskhakov jump to the NHL right away. Instead, it’s quite likely he’ll start next season with Bridgeport of the AHL, allowing himself to get reacclimated to playing in North America. But as a player who has been able to produce in good leagues overseas, he should become an intriguing recall option on a New York team that only finished 24th in goals scored this season.
East Notes: Senators Injuries, Goodrow, Kaski
In an interview on TSN 1200 (audio link), Senators GM Pierre Dorion provided an update on several injured players. Forward Tim Stutzle suffered a recurrence of the knee injury he had earlier in the season while playing at the Worlds which resulted in his early exit from the tournament. Fortunately, the injury isn’t a severe one as the youngster will need a couple of weeks to recover which will give him plenty of time to get ready for training camp in the fall. Meanwhile, Jake Sanderson is on the right path in his recovery from a hand injury that prevented the blueliner from seeing any NHL action down the stretch and is expected to be ready for development camp this summer.
As for goaltender Matt Murray, Dorion added that the netminder is expected to be fully recovered from his concussion and be ready for training camp. The 28-year-old is coming off another tough year that saw him post a save percentage of just .906 which has led to some speculation about his future with the Senators. Murray has two more years left on his contract that carries a $6.25MM AAV.
More from the Eastern Conference:
- There was some good news on the injury front for the Rangers today as Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today relays (Twitter link) that winger Barclay Goodrow has resumed skating. He has been out since being suffering a lower-body injury in the opening game of the playoffs. Considering he has missed a few weeks now, it seems unlikely Goodrow will be available for Thursday’s fifth game against Carolina but he might have a chance to return by the end of the series.
- Hurricanes RFA Oliwer Kaski has decided to stay overseas as HC Lugano of the NLA in Switzerland announced that they’ve signed the defenseman to a two-year contract. The 26-year-old was tendered a qualifying offer by Carolina in 2020 but has spent the past two years with Avangard Omsk in the KHL. His NHL rights are set to expire next summer so if he wants to come back to North America at that time, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent.
Ducks Prospect Lucas Elvenes Signs In Sweden
May 24: The contract for Elvenes in Sweden has officially been announced, noting that it is for two years.
May 11: While it has taken a few months longer than he originally planned, Ducks prospect winger Lucas Elvenes is expected to return to the SHL and sign with HV71, reports SportExpressen’s Johan Svensson, who adds that several other teams in Sweden’s top league also were showing interest in him.
Back in January, the 22-year-old worked out an agreement to mutually terminate his contract with Vegas with an eye on him going back to play in his native Sweden (and quite possibly the Olympics). But to get to that point, he had to clear unconditional waivers first. He didn’t.
Instead, Elvenes became just the second-ever player to be claimed from those waivers as Anaheim picked him up with an eye on bolstering their farm team. He did just that as he collected 33 points in 43 games with San Diego, a nice improvement on the 10 in 20 contests he had with Henderson. However, it wasn’t enough to earn an opportunity to suit up with Anaheim.
Now that his entry-level contract is set to expire in July, Elvenes now has the chance to go back overseas without any restriction and he appears to be set to do so. The Ducks can retain his NHL rights by issuing him a qualifying offer and there’s little reason for them not to do that as they’d be able to hold onto his rights through the 2026-27 season in case he decides to try playing in North America again down the road.
Kristian Vesalainen Signs In SHL
May 23rd: The signing is now official, with the Malmo Redhawks officially announcing the addition of Vesalainen today.
May 21st: Jets winger Kristian Vesalainen has failed to make much of an impact in his four seasons in North America and it appears he’s opting for a change of scenery as Expressen’s Johan Svensson reports that Vesalainen is expected to sign with Malmo of the SHL for next season with an official announcement coming as soon as next week.
The 22-year-old was a first-round pick of Winnipeg back in 2017 (24th overall) but has failed to produce with any sort of consistency. He played in 53 NHL games this season but managed just two goals and one assist while averaging just 8:40 per contest. In the minors, he hasn’t fared much better as his best output was a 30-point showing in 2019-20, hardly the type of numbers teams want to see from a first-round prospect.
As a result, a return overseas certainly would make sense for Vesalainen. He’s waiver-eligible beginning next season and as a result, he’d likely be earmarked for another limited role if he stayed with Winnipeg who almost certainly wouldn’t want to expose him to waivers to get him back to AHL Manitoba. But if he wants to play a bigger role and show that he still has some offensive upside, playing in Sweden will give him a better chance to do just that.
As Vesalainen is a restricted free agent this summer, the Jets can still retain his NHL rights by issuing a qualifying offer. In doing so, they’ll at least have the right to try to bring him back in a couple of years if his performance improves overseas which would give them one more chance to salvage some value out of a draft pick that hasn’t panned out so far.