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Offseason Keys: Buffalo Sabres

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The offseason has arrived for at least seven teams that were not invited to take part in the Qualifying Round that has now started.  With that in mind, our Offseason Keys series is underway for the teams that are on the outside looking in.  Next up is a look at Buffalo.

This season was certainly a disappointing one for the Sabres.  After bringing in a new head coach and bolstering their depth, the results weren’t much different than in previous years with another playoff miss.  After originally giving Jason Botterill a public vote of confidence, ownership decided to make a change at GM, promoting Kevyn Adams to the role despite minimal front office experience.  The team has already made significant cuts to its front office and while making some moves to replace those that were let go (such as a new AHL coaching staff), Adams will have several things surrounding the Sabres on his plate this summer.

Looking Forward

Generally speaking, new general managers don’t often get the cleanest of canvasses to work with as they look to put their stamp on the team.  Adams is in somewhat of a unique situation when it comes to his forward group as Buffalo has just four regulars signed for next season in Jack Eichel, Jeff Skinner, Marcus Johansson, and Kyle Okposo, the latter of which is likely earmarked for a fourth line or reserve role.

This isn’t just a case of having a bunch of restricted free agents either as they have more unrestricted free agents than restricted free agents.  It’s a safe bet that three of those RFAs will be brought back in Sam Reinhart (whose post-bridge contract is going to be one of the more interesting ones of the offseason), Victor Olofsson, and Dominik Kahun.  But even with them eventually getting signed, that’s only seven forwards under contract which leaves up to seven roster spots available.

Of their unrestricted free agents, there aren’t any must-sign players although if the price is right, they’ll likely look at what it would cost to keep Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson around.  Having said that, losing one or both of them won’t drastically change their fortunes either.

Some of those open spots will likely be earmarked for youngsters.  Casey Mittelstadt will assuredly get another look while their top 2019 pick in Dylan Cozens may get a shot as well.  But even if those two make the team, there will be room to add.

Buffalo has less than $50MM in commitments for next season and even when they re-sign all of their restricted free agents, they will have a fair bit of room to play with in an offseason where cap space is going to be at a premium.  The Sabres will be well-positioned to try to add an impact forward or two via free agency and if that falls through, they should be able to take advantage on the trade market.  Many new general managers are hamstrung with limited flexibility when they take over but Adams will be the exception and will have a good chance to change up their forwards pretty quickly.

Determine Ullmark’s Future

Last summer, Buffalo decided to kick the can on deciding Linus Ullmark’s long-term future with the team down the road, inking him to what amounted to a second bridge deal, a one-year pact worth $1.325MM.  Given that he only had one full year of NHL experience under his belt, the decision was certainly justifiable.

Punting that call again is no longer an option though.  The netminder is now one year away from UFA eligibility so another one-year deal just sets him up to walk away.  Adams is going to have to decide if Ullmark is a goalie that they want to build around pretty quickly.

Given his limited NHL track record (97 games over parts of five seasons), it would be difficult to make the case that he has shown enough to be their undisputed starter of the future.  On the other hand, Ullmark posted a more than respectable .915 SV% with a 2.69 GAA in 34 games this season.  On a non-playoff team, that’s pretty good.  At a minimum, those are pretty good numbers for someone in a platoon role which is basically the role he has held the last two years.

At 27, is that a role that Ullmark wants to lock himself into for several more seasons, even with Carter Hutton only a year away from free agency of his own?  If he envisions himself as a starter, he may prefer another short-term deal to let him test the open market quicker.  On the other hand, with less than 100 games of experience, a multi-year commitment at a decent-sized raise on his deal from this season would give him some security that he hasn’t had before.

The Sabres have a promising young goalie in the system in Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen but he’s still two or three years away from being ready for the NHL.  Is Ullmark the right one to bridge the gap?  Adams will have to decide that over the next few months.

Dahlin Extension

Based on the new salary cap situation, it’s not shaping up to be a fun offseason for many pending free agents.  But what about those who will be entering the final year of their deals and are now eligible for a contract extension?  It certainly stands to reason that teams may not be as willing to hand out a big-ticket contract to players in those situations as well.

Rasmus Dahlin appears to be a particularly interesting case study for players that can sign an extension.  The 2018 top pick actually saw his ice time scaled back this season under Ralph Krueger by nearly two minutes per game but it appeared to work for him as he nearly matched his rookie point total this season despite playing in 23 fewer games.

Between that and the expectations of him continuing to develop into an eventual franchise defenseman, this would normally be the recipe for a long-term deal getting done relatively quickly as other number one picks have done.  But that was then and this is now.  Is Buffalo going to be as willing to hand him a mammoth contract?  Will Dahlin prefer a bridge deal in the hopes that the cap picture will be improved once the next television contract is completed?  That’s a path that a lot of players will likely take in the coming months.

One element that Buffalo has that many other teams don’t is cap space.  They have the ability to ink Dahlin to a long-term deal now without it really creating a huge impact on their long-term cap picture.  Presumably, it will take more than what Florida gave Aaron Ekblad, a former top pick himself; the 24-year-old signed an eight-year, $60MM deal after his sophomore season which is where Dahlin is now.  (Based on Ekblad’s cap percentage at the time the deal was signed, an equivalent rate would be roughly $8.7MM per season instead of $7.5MM.)  There’s a roadmap to getting a contract extension done with Dahlin but will the new marketplace give one or both sides pause?  We’ll find out soon enough.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Arttu Ruotsalainen Staying In Finland

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While hockey fans in North America drink in 10-12 hours of playoff (or round-robin) action every day, other leagues around the world continue to prepare for a 2020-21 season. In Finland, Ilves has announced that Arttu Ruotsalainen will be back after a loan from the Buffalo Sabres. The release notably does not indicate that it will be for the entire season, using the term “until further notice” instead, meaning Ruotsalainen could be back for Sabres training camp in November.

The 22-year old forward signed his three-year entry-level contract in the spring of 2019, but spent this season back in Finland continuing his development. That’s the same arrangement they’ll go with now, but after dominating offensively once again you can bet the Sabres want to get a look at him on North American ice eventually.

Ruotsalainen is undersized, standing at just 5-foot-8, but has continued to find success as he climbs the levels in Finland. This past season he recorded 43 points in 44 games. With the Sabres having trouble finding offensive talent to surround players like Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson, taking a chance on a player like Ruotsalainen makes sense.

Still, while Finland’s top league is competitive, it’s not the NHL. The young forward will be in tough trying to replicate those offensive totals when he eventually does come over, if he even gets an opportunity with Buffalo at all.

Buffalo Sabres Sign Brett Murray

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With the rest of the league preparing for a summer tournament, the Buffalo Sabres are focused on next season. Today, they added some prospect depth, signing Brett Murray to a two-year entry-level contract. Murray earned himself this deal with a strong rookie season for the Rochester Americans in 2019-20.

Murray, 22, was a fourth-round pick of the Sabres in 2016 and had quite the winding road to professional hockey. He first went to the USHL following his draft, playing 27 games for the Youngstown Phantoms in 2016. After producing at that level he decided to enroll early at Penn State and joined the college hockey program for the second half of 2016-17. Unfortunately, that proved to be a mistake, as Murray struggled to keep up and recorded just a single point in 12 games. He returned the next season and continued to fail offensively, leading to a decision to leave Penn State in 2018.

He returned to the USHL for a year while he waited out a transfer to Miami University, but after dominating the junior league to the tune of 41 goals and 75 points in 62 games, he ended up signing an AHL contract with Rochester instead of returning to the NCAA. Murray actually saw his exclusive draft rights with the Sabres expire a few months ago, but will remain in the organization with this new entry-level deal.

In 55 games for Rochester he scored 24 points and will likely be back in the minor leagues developing his game next season. The 6’5″ forward has a chance to be a difference-maker at that level, but his NHL future is still unclear.

Could John Chayka Be Headed To Buffalo?

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Plenty has been written about the status of Arizona Coyotes general manager John Chayka over the last couple of days. NHL writers Elliotte Friedman and Pierre LeBrun both indicated that the Coyotes and Chayka could be headed for a divorce despite three years remaining on Chayka’s contract. The belief is that Chayka was given permission to speak to another “professional opportunity,” six weeks ago. However, with a new owner and new management in place in Arizona, it’s not surprising if the team might prefer to bring in its own GM.

The Province’s Patrick Johnston has another theory, however. The scribe wonders whether that opportunity might have been with the Buffalo Sabres as the franchise fired their general manager six weeks ago and is currently operating with a skeleton executive office staff. Granted, the GM position is currently filled by newly-hired Kevyn Adams. However, the Sabres’ ownership, the Pegulas, own quite a bit more than just the Sabres. They own the Buffalo Bills, the Rochester Americans, the ice rink and a hotel nearby. He could be a candidate to run the whole entertainment combination. Buffalo, a team who has struggled with both success on the ice and struggles to generate much income on their own, might need someone who has had some success in that area, although the Coyotes haven’t necessarily shown that success on the ice as of yet.

Chayka was a candidate for Buffalo’s GM position three years ago before the team opted to go with Jason Botterill. However, the Coyotes refused to allow the Sabres the opportunity to interview him for the position. Throw in the fact that Chayka is a native of Buffalo, having grown up 40 minutes from there in Jordan Station and the dots do connect to a possible opportunity for Chayka if the Coyotes eventually let him out of his contract.

Maple Leafs’ Eddie Shack Dies At Age 83

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He played 16 seasons with six different NHL teams, but Eddie Shack was considered to be a Toronto Maple Leaf. The team announced that the forward, who helped lead the Toronto franchise to four Stanley Cup Championships in the 1960s, passed away Saturday after a long fight with throat cancer. He was 83 years old.

Shack was a popular player in his time in the NHL, who held several nicknames throughout his career, including “The Entertainer,” “The Nose,” and even had a novelty song written about him called “Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack.” However, his on the ice play, especially in his years with the Maple Leafs was what stood out. Shack played nine seasons with Toronto, including a seven-year run from 1960 to 1967 where he played on four Stanley Cup title teams in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. He also scored the game-winning goal in 1963 to capture the cup and was well known for his celebrations on the ice after scoring a goal.

He did get traded five different times throughout his career and spent time with a number of other teams, including the New York Rangers, Los Angeles Kings, Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins, before finally wrapping up his career with two more years in Toronto before retiring after the 1974-75 season. He was even almost traded to the Detroit Red Wings in a package in 1960 for Red Kelly, but the trade was cancelled after Kelly opted to retire rather than be traded. Shack played in 1,047 games, scoring 239 goals and accumulating 1,439 penalty minutes over the course of his career. He was just a handful of players to score 20 or more goals for five different teams.

Everyone at PHR wishes the best for the family and friends of Shack at this time.

Michael Frolik Receiving Overseas Interest

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It hasn’t been a great last few NHL seasons for Michael Frolik.  He has gone from being a valuable middle-six winger to more of a depth role and it appears teams overseas have taken notice in the hopes of luring him across the pond.  Sport-Express in Russia reports that Avangard Omsk of the KHL has offered him a one-year contract while iSport’s Pavel Barta adds that Frolik’s camp has been in talks with Lausanne of the Swiss NLA about a deal as well.

Frolik wrapped up his five-year, $21.5MM deal this season on a quiet note.  He started off the season in Calgary where he had a very limited role and Buffalo decided to take a chance on him midseason, flipping the Flames a fourth-round pick for his services.  The change of scenery didn’t do him much good though as he only managed a single goal (an empty-netter) plus three assists in 19 games with the Sabres which was actually a small step back from the five goals and five helpers he had in 38 contests with Calgary.  Suffice it to say, he’s going to be looking at a significant pay cut one way or the other as he hits the UFA market.

While Frolik is looking at his options overseas, his European agent Josef Machala told Barta that Frolik’s preference is to remain in the NHL.

That may wind up complicating things for him.  While the final date for the start of free agency hasn’t been set yet, the NHL’s critical dates calendar pegs it to be around the middle of October; all contracts have been extended through the end of that month which gives them a bit of extra wiggle room.  That’s the earliest that the 32-year-old will be allowed to talk to other NHL teams even with Buffalo not being part of the NHL’s return to wrap up this season.

By then, most international leagues (with the exception of Germany’s DEL) will be underway and while it’s not impossible to join a team midseason, it becomes trickier.  By then, most teams will have filled up their higher-priced import slots which will limit the options for him if he waits to see if any NHL opportunities arise first.  Those leagues won’t be getting underway until September so there’s still time for Frolik to assess his European options but if he turns down those options, there’s no guarantee they’ll still be around if opportunities in the NHL don’t present themselves which means he’ll have a big decision to make in the coming weeks.

Overseas Notes: Andrighetto, Berglund, Morrow

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It was a bit of a surprise when forward Sven Andrighetto bolted for Europe last summer. The 27-year-old had shown flashes of great ability over the years, and while he failed to score consistently, he still had developed into a serviceable depth forward. Andrighetto had recorded 83 points in 216 NHL games with Montreal and Colorado and had played in a career-high 64 games in 2018-19. Yet, when the Avalanche declined to extend him a qualifying offer, Andrighetto left North America entirely, signing a two-year deal with the KHL’s Avangard Omsk. A year later, he clearly has no regrets. Andrighetto has made a major career decision that puts a future NHL career in doubt. The ZSC Lions of the Swiss NLA, the same club who Andrighetto played for during his early developmental years, announced that they have brought their homegrown product back on a stunning five-year deal. The final year of Andrighetto’s deal with Omsk has been terminated and he is now under contract with ZSC through the 2024-25 season. Should he play out that entire contract, Andrighetto would be well into his 30’s by the next time he is a free agent. While he has the potential to put up big numbers with the Lions, filling the shoes of the departed Pius Suter under the tutelage of head coach Rickard Gronberg, it may not be enough to drum up interest in a 32-year-old who is six years removed from NHL action. If Andrighetto is to play in the NHL again, it would likely mean he has to break his contract with his hometown club to return within the next five years. That seems unlikely at this point, which could mean we have seen the last of a talented, capable forward in the NHL ranks.

  • The same goes for NHL veteran Patrik Berglund. Hinted at earlier this month with reports that he was negotiating with the SHL’s Brynas IF, Berglund seemingly had no intention of a return to the NHL this off-season after abandoning the Buffalo Sabres midway through the 2018-19 season. That has now been confirmed, as Berglund has signed a two-year deal with Brynas per a team release. Berglund, 32, spent this year with Djurgardens IF and found great success; the long-time St. Louis Blue recorded 31 points in 49 games for one of the best per-game scoring seasons of his pro career. He now moves to Brynas, who did not make the SHL playoffs this year despite the efforts of star forward Anton Rodin. The team could desperately use some veteran leadership and Berglund hopes that he can fill that role and that he and Rodin can turn the team back into a contender. With his efforts clearly focused on making an impact at home in Sweden, Berglund is unlikely to be back in the NHL again.
  • A wild ride continues for defenseman Joe Morrow. Morrow, 27, who earned a contract extension and 41 games with the Winnipeg Jets just two years ago, has been in a whirlwind ever since. Morrow was unable to find an NHL contract last off-season and attended training camp with the New York Rangers, only to earn a contract offer from the rival New Jersey Devils. However, after months with the Devils without seeing any NHL action, Morrow’s contract was terminated and he departed for the KHL, signing a two-year deal with Dynamo Minsk. This was amazingly the first multi-year deal of Morrow’s pro career since his entry-level deal had expired and it looked like Minsk might be a good place for the veteran to rebuild his stock as a top player for the club. Instead, Morrow was a bust in Minsk, managing just three assists and a -8 rating in 22 games. Perhaps not so surprisingly, the two sides have now gone their separate ways, with the second year of Morrow’s contract terminated according to the team. What’s next for the veteran defenseman remains a mystery at this point.

Rick Dudley Will Not Join The Sabres

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  • Veteran executive Rick Dudley is looking for a new team after parting ways with Carolina at the beginning of the month and while the logical fit seemed like the Sabres, John Wawrow of the Associated Press reports (Twitter link) that the 71-year-old will not be joining Buffalo. Dudley has been the Senior VP of Hockey Operations with his last two teams in Carolina and Montreal and should have little trouble finding a new organization over the coming months.

Poll: Who Is Most Deserving Of The No. 1 Pick?

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We asked and you voted and the Pittsburgh Penguins are the team that readers least want to see win the No. 1 overall pick in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by means of a second draft lottery. The Penguins were closely followed by the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers and unsurprisingly these are three teams loaded with star power who finished in the top-five among teams in the qualifying round. Yet, the Carolina Hurricanes, who hold the second best record among qualifying round teams, gained just 1% of the vote, while the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Blackhawks, the worst teams to qualify from each conference, finished fourth and fifth respectively in voting. This begs the question: who do you think is most deserving of the top pick?

Obviously, with the NHL Draft Lottery playing out as it did with each of the league’s bottom seven teams missing out on the top slot, the most deserving teams like the Detroit Red Wings, Ottawa Senators, or Buffalo Sabres won’t be an option for No. 1 this year. Instead, it will be one of the to-be-determined playoff teams out of the 16 who will play in a “knockout round” to open the expanded 24-team playoff field. All of these teams finished above .500 this season, so a good team will only get better in the form of Alexis Lafreniere, the elite talent at the top of the draft board. All eight losers of the qualifying round will have even odds in a second running of the lottery, but which franchise is most deserving of this boost?

The NHL has no shortage of teams with a history of losing, but the Florida Panthers have a strong argument for the title of unluckiest. Florida, who entered the league in 1993, has just 18 playoff wins in franchise history. A dozen of those wins came in the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 1996, in which they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche. The remaining six wins have come in just four playoff series over the past 22 season, none of which have been won by the Cats. This series win drought is the longest current streak in the NHL. The team has also struggled with attendance over the years, due both to location and performance. The Panthers finished just 29th in capacity attendance this season and could use a young star player to draw more fans. The current Florida roster is not without talent but is strapped for cap space and set to lose some strong players in free agency. An affordable entry level deal for a top pick would go a long way to keep the Panthers competitive in the Atlantic Division.

The Winnipeg Jets have improved since moving from Atlanta, but the team’s legacy is still one of failure. The Thrashers franchise, which has since become the second iteration of the Jets, entered the league in 1999. In 19 seasons, the club has qualified for the playoffs just four times and has won only 11 games and two series. Like the Panthers, the bulk of those wins came in just one postseason as the Jets won nine games in 2017-18. Unlike Florida, they have never appeared in a Stanley Cup Final. The Jets playoff fortunes have increased since leaving Atlanta, where they failed to win a single postseason game in more than a decade. The club may be able to figure out how to get to their first Cup Final without luck, but playing in a remote city with a passionate but small fan base limits the Jets financially and they could definitely use an affordable superstar like Lafreniere, even though the roster already contains a number of strong young players.

The Columbus Blue Jackets have an identical 11-20 playoff record to the Thrashers/Jets and seeing as how they entered the league one year later in 2000, it would seem they have been slightly more successful. Additionally, all of those wins have come within the past six seasons and the team has qualified in each of the past three years. However, the Blue Jackets have the unfortunate distinction of never coming close to a Stanley Cup in a way that no other NHL team can claim. Columbus has won just one playoff series – just last year in fact – in their existence, the fewest in NHL history, and in that season was eliminated ten wins short of a title, the furthest distance that any team can claim is their best. Columbus also lost three of their best players from the team that finally won a series last season. The Blue Jackets may be improving, but their fans have seen less playoff success than any team in the NHL and their roster is not one that seem likely to produce a Stanley Cup any time soon. Lafreniere would be a boost to the franchise the likes of which have never been seen.

The Blue Jackets’ partners in the 2000 Expansion class, the Minnesota Wild presented a return to the State of Hockey for the NHL and have always had the benefit of immense fan support. Yet, the Wild have struggled to give their fans much to truly root for. While their 26 playoff wins since they entered the league is far better than some of their peers, Minnesota has never made it to the Stanley Cup Final and were swept out of their lone Western Conference Final appearance, which came back in 2002-03. Minnesota has largely been a one-and-done team, winning just four playoff series in their existence. Regular season success can only get you so far and it would be good for the team and the league for Minnesota to see some more results in the postseason. The timing could not be better to land Lafreniere either; the Wild snapped a six-season playoff appearance streak last year and their roster is one of the oldest in the league. The team could desperately use a young centerpiece.

The original Winnipeg Jets, who moved to Phoenix and became the Arizona Coyotes in 1996, also deserve inclusion among teams who could use some luck. The Coyotes franchise is the oldest to have never appeared in a Stanley Cup Final, dating back to the Jets’ birth in 1979-80. In that time, they have just 41 playoff wins overall have qualified for the postseason just three times in the past 16 years. They have one of the longest active postseason droughts in the NHL, dating back seven years. The team also has the very unfortunate distinction of having the highest cap payroll in the league this season while placing just 28th in capacity percentage attendance. While star players have been a part of the franchise from time to time throughout its history, the current roster is lacking a young superstar, which is exactly what they need to increase fan interest as well as affordably improve their roster. Lafreniere would be the perfect fit.

As for other teams, the Toronto Maple Leafs have the longest active Stanley Cup drought at 51 years and are second only two Florida with a playoff series win drought of 14 years, so while they have a young, loaded roster, they may still deserve some sympathy. Similarly, while the Montreal Canadiens are the winningest team in NHL history and don’t need any more titles just yet, they are technically the worst team in the qualifying round and could desperately use the boost, as maintaining relevancy in the 21st century has proved difficult for the once-great franchise. The Vancouver Canucks are the oldest team never to have won the Stanley Cup and got painfully close with a Game Seven loss in the 2011 Final and have not won a series ever since. The Nashville Predators have also never won the Stanley Cup, but have gotten close. Like several other teams, sustained success in Nashville would have a beneficial affect on grassroots hockey. Finally, the New York Islanders are a strong team this year and have staying power in the Metropolitan Division, but their glory days of the 80’s are long gone and they have not made a Cup Final appearance in 35 seasons. Lafreniere landing in the New York market could also be great exposure for the game.

What do you think? Which team is most deserving of the No. 1 pick?

[Mobile users vote here]

Buffalo's Unwillingness To Offer Lawrence Pilut A One-Way Deal Helped Push Him Overseas

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  • Lawrence Pilut surprised many when he opted to sign a two-year deal in the KHL over re-signing with the Sabres. It turns out the main issue wasn’t his role with the team but rather the money as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that the team wasn’t willing to offer him a one-way contract until after the deal with Traktor Chelyabinsk was agreed upon.  Pilut only played 13 games with Buffalo this season after suiting up 33 times with the big club during his rookie campaign which is likely why their preference was to give him another two-way pact.  Buffalo will retain his NHL rights by tendering him a qualifying offer this offseason.

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