Buffalo Sabres Sign Dea, Lazar
The Buffalo Sabres have signed a pair of depth forwards, inking Curtis Lazar and Jean-Sebastien Dea. Both players will carry a $700K salary, though Dea received a two-year deal while Lazar is under contract for just a single season.
The Sabres hope they can develop the play of Lazar who has struggled to succeed at the professional level. Lazar has always been considered a top prospect since his junior days and was a first-round pick in 2013 by the Ottawa Senators. He was known for his scoring as he tallied 99 goals over his final three seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. While he immediately joined the Senators when he went pro, he put up just six goals in each of his first two seasons, finally being sent down to the AHL the following year before Ottawa traded him to Calgary at the trade deadline in 2017. However, Lazar struggled even more after that, scoring three goals over the next season and a half. He played all, but one game, with the Stockton Heat last season.
The Sabres are hoping he can develop into a bottom-line depth option for a cheap price. Considered to be a great locker-room guy, he does possess leadership skills. During the 2015 World Junior Championships, he was captain of Canada’s gold-medal team with Connor McDavid and Sam Reinhart.
Dea is another project as the undrafted free-agent from Pittsburgh was always considered to be a talented player, but he could never thrive at the NHL level, eventually getting claimed by the New Jersey Devils at the start of the year, but they couldn’t get enough out of him and were forced to place him on waivers, allowing Pittsburgh to bring him back. The Penguins eventually sent him to Florida at this year’s trade deadline, but he just played in the AHL. He played 23 games between Pittsburgh and New Jersey, but tallied just four goals and six points. He did, however, notch 18 goals between two different AHL teams last season, including 11 goals and 22 points in 20 games.
Sabres Sign Andrew Hammond
“The Hamburglar” is making his next appearance in Buffalo. The Sabres have announced a one-year contract with Andrew Hammond worth the NHL minimum $700K. The veteran goalie should slot in as the team’s No. 3 keeper next season.
Buffalo had hoped that this was the year that stud goaltending prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen might take over full-time duties in Rochester, but the prospect underwent hip surgery in April which could miss a large chunk of the season and therefore would be better off as a backup option once he returns. Hence the addition of Hammond. The 31-year-old known for impressive streaks, including an incredible run while he was with the Ottawa Senators in the 2014-15 season in which he posted a 1.79 GAA and a .941 save percentage in 24 games for them. Unfortunately for Hammond, he also had just as many streaks where he was unsuccessful, making for a very streaky goaltender.
He has played just 56 total NHL games over his career and spent last season as the third-string option for the Minnesota Wild, but was not able to beat out backup Alex Stalock and served as the starting netminder with the Iowa Wild in the AHL. He played 33 games for Iowa, putting up a 2.81 GAA and a .910 save percentage, but never played a game for Minnesota.
While Buffalo’s goaltending situation looks solid in Carter Hutton and Linus Ullmark, neither goalie posted great numbers and if one of them falters, the team might feel comfortable calling up Hammond.
Buffalo Sabres Ink John Gilmour To One-Year Deal
The Buffalo Sabres won the sweepstakes for defenseman John Gilmour, who attracted a surprising amount of interest on the open market this week. The former New York Rangers blueliner signed a one-year, one-way deal worth $700K, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli.
Gilmour looked to be on the verge of cracking the Rangers’ lineup a couple of years ago after signing with New York after four years at Providence College. After two full years in the AHL, Gilmour appeared in 28 games during the 2017-18 season, but saw his stock drop this year as multiple defensive prospects passed him on the Rangers prospect chart. He appeared in just five games with New York this year, despite having an impressive season with the Hartford Wolf Pack, scoring 20 goals and 54 points.
Seravalli reported a week ago that Gilmour was receiving significant interest around the league, suggesting that as many as 13 teams had expressed interest in the 26-year-old. In Buffalo, Gilmour will likely provide some depth for the Sabres, but the key will be his one-way deal, which should keep him on an NHL roster for the season.
Buffalo Sabres Acquire Jimmy Vesey
The Buffalo Sabres have acquired Jimmy Vesey (again), this time sending a 2021 third-round pick to the New York Rangers. Buffalo had previously traded for Vesey’s negotiating rights in 2016 from the Nashville Predators—coincidentally sending a third-round pick that time too—but he decided not to sign with them and became a free agent after his college career. Vesey currently has just one year remaining on his current contract which carries a $2.275MM cap hit and is scheduled to become a UFA once again in the summer of 2020.
While obviously this will immediately spark more speculation about the Rangers’ pursuit of Artemi Panarin, Buffalo has been chasing Vesey for some time. The Rangers already had enough cap space to fit in the top free agent if they wanted, meaning this is likely just cashing in on an expiring asset. New York have several young forwards ready to step into bigger roles and Vesey was obviously not part of the long-term plan.
Now 26, Vesey hasn’t had quite the impact many hoped he would coming out of Harvard University but is still a solid offensive contributor. Scoring at least 16 (and at most 17) goals in each of his three seasons, he should add a bit of depth scoring to the Sabres as they try to push for a playoff spot this season. Buffalo is now missing their third-round picks for each of the next two seasons, but after adding some more young talent at the draft this year they are ready to start competing instead of rebuilding.
UFA Notes: Pickard, Agostino, Leier, Speculation
There’s a goalie competition coming to Detroit. TSN’s Frank Seravalli reports that free agent goalie Calvin Pickard is poised to sign a two-year deal with the Red Wings when the market opens tomorrow. As Seravalli notes, that will pit him against Jonathan Bernier for the backup role behind Jimmy Howard. With Howard, 35, signed through just next year but both Bernier and soon Pickard signed for two more years, the time share in net next season in Detroit could be fascinating. Not only could the two veteran goalies battle to be Howard’s understudy next season, but they could be in line to replace him a season later. Neither keeper found much success in 2018-19. Bernier, who some expected to beat out Howard for the starting job, instead posted the worst numbers of his career – a .904 save percentage and 3.16 GAA – in 35 appearances. Pickard fared even worse, allowing an .875 save percentage and 3.86 GAA in a season split between the Philadelphia Flyers and Arizona Coyotes. Pickard’s advantage in the battle though will be his price point, expected to be low after a down year, compared to Bernier’s $3MM mark.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs are lacking the cap space to do much of anything other than adding affordable depth pieces. Adrian Dater of Colorado Hockey Now reports that one such deal is already done. Former AHL MVP Kenny Agostino is expected to sign a two-year, one-way contract with the Leafs, though Dater does not provide any salary details. Agostino, 27, finally got a full-time look in the NHL last season, playing in 63 games with the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils. Agostino recorded 24 points on the year, a mark that Toronto would be very happy with if the winger comes in at a low cost.
- It was a year of change for Taylor Leier, who experienced both his first trade, moving from the Philadelphia Flyers to the Buffalo Sabres, and his first season spent exclusively in the AHL. Despite qualifying for Group 6 unrestricted free agency, it seems the 25-year-old forward has place emphasis on familiarity instead of opportunity. The Rochester Americans, affiliate of the Sabres, have announced a one-year AHL contract with Leier. The signing comes as a bit of a surprise, considering Leier spent the entire 2017-18 season in the NHL and has been a very productive AHL player. Young and capable, Leier seemingly would have been a good fit for a two-way deal somewhere, but apparently would rather stay put in Rochester, perhaps in hopes of convincing Buffalo that he is worthy of an NHL contract.
- Spoiler alert! Although he acknowledges that they are just educated guesses and provides few details, TSN’s respected insider Bob McKenzie has offered some insight where some of the biggest UFA names may end up tomorrow. McKenzie believes that Columbus teammates Artemi Panarin and Sergei Bobrovsky may not end up as a package deal after all. He thinks that Panarin, and possibly Semyon Varlamov, could land with the New York Islanders, while Bobrovsky goes alone to the Florida Panthers. Those moves would then leave the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets as the likely to suitors for Robin Lehner. McKenzie also states that a long-term deal for Mats Zuccarello with the Minnesota Wild appears to be close to done.
Eastern Notes: Francis, Payne, Johansson, Reimer, Lehner, Mastrosimone
One name that hasn’t gotten quite a bit of attention the last year has been that of former Carolina Hurricanes general manager Ron Francis. The former GM has spent the last few months on a management team that put together the roster for Canada at the recent World Championships. Sportsnet’s John Shannon points out that today is the last day that he is under contract with Carolina and could be free to sign with an other NHL team. According to Shannon, His work with Hockey Canada has increased his desire to return to the NHL.
Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland adds that Francis name has come up for a while as a strong candidate for the general manager position in Seattle. Francis help build the Hurricanes roster that eventually eliminated the former Stanley Cup Champion Washington Capitals last year and reached the conference finals.
- Ottawa Senators new head coach D.J. Smith will add another key assistant to his staff. After bringing in Jack Capuano to be his associate head coach, the Senators announced today that they have also added former St. Louis Blues head coach Davis Payne as an assistant coach for the 2019-20 season. The 48-year-old Payne spent the past two years in Ottawa’s division as the associate coach for the Buffalo Sabres and Phil Housley. Before that he spent five years as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings and helped lead the team to the 2014 Stanley Cup Championship. As head coach in St. Louis, he spent parts of three seasons there between 2009 and 2011, finishing with a 67-55-15 record.
- TSN’s Darren Dreger writes that unrestricted free agent forward Marcus Johansson is talking to a number of teams today, but he is no longer talking to the Boston Bruins. The 28-year-old was acquired by Boston at the trade deadline for their playoff run, but reports indicate that his price tag is more than Boston wants to pay. Dreger adds that Boston is totally out of the picture now.
- News & Observer’s Luke DeCock reports that while the Carolina Hurricanes acquired goaltender James Reimer earlier today, his stay in Carolina could be short. The scribe writes that Carolina isn’t necessarily planning on keeping the goaltender as the team continues to look to make more deals ahead of the opening of free agency on Monday. If they can find a taker, the team may try to flip him to another team.
- The Athletic’s Arthur Staple adds that the Reimer trade suggests that the Florida Panthers are the leading candidates to sign Sergei Bobrovsky, which means the Islanders could find themselves without a top goalie. He points out there is plenty of time to re-connect with Robin Lehner. The two sides weren’t close in negotiations, but the Islanders may have no choice to change their stance in discussions.
- The Detroit Red Wings got some bad news Saturday when they learned that recent draft prospect Robert Mastrosimone, the team’s second-round pick this year, suffered broken right ankle during development camp last week, according to the Detroit Free Press’ Helene St. James. The injury will require four to six weeks of rehab. Mastrosimone scored 31 goals for the USHL Chicago Steel last season.
UFA Notes: Perry, Dzingel, Lee, Zuccarello, Talbot, Gilmour
Perhaps one of the most interesting free agents out there seems to be Corey Perry. The veteran forward, recently bought out by the Anaheim Ducks has received interest from at least 10 teams, according to TSN’s Frank Seravalli. The 34-year-old winger is trying to narrow his choices to the best three to four today, but new teams keep jumping into the mix.
Sportsnet’s John Shannon reports that three or four teams are aggressively pursuing Perry as several teams are looking for a short-term option to help their team immediately. The Edmonton Oilers are considered one the four teams as they are trying to add as much help to the team’s top-six as possible, hoping that Perry might be able to help either Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Perry was limited to just 34 games last season, posting six goals and 10 points.
- Ryan Dzingel‘s name has heated up recently as Columbus Dispatch’s Brian Hedger reports that the scorer will not be returning to Columbus even with his Ohio ties. Reports that he clashed with head coach John Tortorella in his tenure with the Blue Jackets have made him look elsewhere. However, Sporting News Canada’s Murray Pam reports that two teams are vying for the 27 year old’s services, including the Chicago Blackhawks and the Colorado Avalanche. The Blackhawks could make the most sense for Dzingel as Chicago attempted to trade for him at the trade deadline, before he ended up with Columbus, and he also own a home in the Chicago area. Dzingel scored 26 goals and had 56 points between Ottawa and Columbus last season and could be a great second-line target for the right team.
- With Anders Lee seemingly less and less likely to re-sign with the New York Islanders, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that he wouldn’t be surprised if the Montreal Canadiens go after the 28-year-old winger. Lee, who has tallied 68 goals over the past two seasons is looking for a long-term deal, which the Islanders have balked at so far. However, the Canadiens who are loaded with plenty of young forwards may be interested in adding a veteran leader who can help out both on the ice and in the locker room.
- The Athletic’s Michael Russo (subscription required) reports that the Minnesota Wild are actively pursuing unrestricted free agent forward Mats Zuccarello and are prepared to offer him a long-term deal. The scribe adds that the Columbus Blue Jackets are also in the mix for the rights to the veteran forward. The 31-year-old was traded to Dallas at the trade deadline this year and he performed well in the playoffs (four goals and 11 points in 13 games), but the two opted to part ways when contract negotiations fell apart. The Wild have approximately $17.4MM in cap room to spend this offseason, although they still have to sign several of their restricted free agents, including Kevin Fiala, Ryan Donato and Joel Eriksson Ek. Russo adds the team is also looking at forward Ryan Hartman.
- Flames radio host Pat Steinberg reports that all signs point to the Calgary Flames signing goaltender Cam Talbot Monday, likely to a one-year deal. Calgary looks like they intend to part ways with veteran Mike Smith, which could give Talbot, who has been playing for the rival Oilers for the past four years, minus the last few months when he was traded to Philadelphia. Talbot struggled last season with a 3.40 GAA and a .892 save percentage in 35 games between the two teams.
- Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland reports that there is mutual interest between the Buffalo Sabres and unrestricted free agent defenseman John Gilmour, who became a Group 6 free agent this offseason. After appearing in 28 games in the 2017-18 season, Gilmour appeared in just five games this season and didn’t look to be in the team’s plans with so many young blueliners passing him. Regardless, the 26-year-old fared well in the AHL, putting up 20 goals and 54 points in 70 games for the Hartford Wolf Pack.
Snapshots: Duchene, Donskoi, Vrana, Engelland, McElhinney, Berglund
While speculation has center Matt Duchene likely signing a long-term deal with the Nashville Predators, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes that the Montreal Canadiens aren’t out of the running yet. While Nashville may still be the favorite to land the star center, Friedman writes that one of his sources says that it’s not locked in and Montreal still is in the race.
Duchene, who grew up a fan of the Canadiens, would be a big addition for the Canadiens if they can land him. Duchene would likely become their top center in hopes of vaulting Montreal back into a playoff spot.
- TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that while things are still in the works, he believes that the Colorado Avalanche and an unidentified team are the finalists to sign unrestricted free agent forward Joonas Donskoi. The 27-year-old scored 14 goals and 37 points last season and could provide the team with a solid middle-six option for the Avalanche. While LeBrun notes that he doesn’t know who the other team is, he believes that Buffalo and Edmonton are not in the running anymore.
- The Washington Capitals managed to trade off one of their key restricted free agents in Andre Burakovsky Friday in hopes of saving some cap room, but even being free of that contract, the money is tight in Washington. In fact, Washington general manager Brian MacLellan said that because the NHL salary cap was lower than expected ($81.5MM), the team will likely be forced to sign restricted free agent Jakub Vrana to a short-term deal, according to NHL.com’s Tom Gulliti. Washington had initially planned to lock up Vrana to a long-term deal when the team had expected the cap to be set at $83MM, but with the number being lower than expected, the MacLellan doesn’t believe the team has the money to sign him long-term.
- Vegas Golden Knights President of Hockey Operations George McPhee confirmed that the team is close to signing veteran unrestricted free agent defenseman Deryk Engelland, according to Las Vegas Review-Journal’s David Schoen. The 37-year-old had a down season last year, but the veteran who actually played in Vegas in the ECHL before the Golden Knights came about, has been a community leader there. He is likely expected to take a bottom-six role next season and could find himself more in a 6th/7th role on defense.
- TSN’s Pierre LeBrun reports that the Montreal Canadiens are among three teams that are interested in signing veteran goaltender Curtis McElhinney. The 36-year-old had a great season in Carolina after the Hurricanes claimed him off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs at the beginning of the year. He finished the season with a 2.58 GAA and a .912 save percentage in 33 appearances. LeBrun also adds that it doesn’t look like Toronto is one of the other two teams.
- Former NHL player Patrik Berglund, who walked out on the Buffalo Sabres in the middle of last season, is exploring a return the the NHL and has several teams interested, according to Fox Sports Midwest’s Andy Strickland. Berglund, who was packaged to Buffalo in the Ryan O’Reilly trade last offseason, didn’t like it in Buffalo and finally requested that his contract to be terminated after playing just 23 games in a reduced role. The 31-year-old scored 17 goals in the 2017-18 season, but scored just twice before walking away this year.
Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres
Free agency is now just a few days away and there are quite a few prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign. The Buffalo Sabres, now that they have inked Jeff Skinner to an eight-year, $72MM deal earlier this month, don’t have as much to worry about as the team has neither many important restricted or unrestricted free agents they need to worry about.
Key Restricted Free Agent: G Linus Ullmark – The Sabres may not have gotten the season they were hoping for from free agent goaltender Carter Hutton, but they also had high hopes for Ullmark to take t
he next step and establish himself as a solid backup to the veteran. However, whether that will be the case is another question. While Ullmark looked early on in the season like the answer as the team’s backup, his play started to slip as the year wore on and he struggled especially late in the season, eventually finishing with a 3.11 GAA and a .905 save percentage. However, with no other young goalie particularly close to being ready to challenge him, it’s likely the Sabres will give Ullmark another year to develop his body for the long-haul for the season.
F Zemgus Girgensons – While hardly an impact player, the Sabres have been using the 25-year-old as a bottom-line depth option for six years already as he provides the team with some size and grit that the team needs at the bottom of their line-up. While he hasn’t broken the 10-goal mark since the 2014-15 season (he scored five last year), he did finish with 144 hits last season, his highest numbers since his rookie season. The question is whether the team sees him as a long-term option as he is one year away from becoming a unrestricted free-agent.
F Evan Rodrigues – The team has like what it has seen from Rodrigues, who signed with Buffalo after four years at Boston University and has since worked his way through the AHL and finally saw a full season in Buffalo this year. While his numbers were quite pedestrian as he finished the year with nine goals and 29 points, he has seen increased playing time and the team hopes he can still provide some middle-six depth for the team, although he should receive a slight raise from the $650K that he made last season.
Other RFAs: F Remi Elie, F Johan Larsson, D Jake McCabe, F C.J. Smith
Key Unrestricted Free Agents: F Jason Pominville – He has played 11 seasons for Buffalo over the course of his career and despite hitting 36 years of age, the team may consider bringing back the veteran as an inexpensive depth option. After all, he posted 16 goals last season, while playing a career-low 12:28 last season. While he certainly wasn’t worth the $5.6MM he was making last season, he would be worth a low-cost deal, who could provide the team’s youth with a veteran presence.
Other UFAs: F Eric Cornel, F Kyle Criscuolo, D Jack Dougherty, F Taylor Leier, F Sean Malone, D Brycen Martin, F Matt Moulson, F Daniel O’Regan; D Matt Tennyson, G Scott Wedgewood, G Adam Wilcox
Projected Cap Space: The Sabres currently sit a little more than $15MM under the cap ceiling, according to CapFriendly, and should have some cap room to try to find some offense to help out their struggling second line. With the recent addition of defenseman Colin Miller from Vegas, the team should be in good shape with their defense, but the team’s biggest problem was putting the puck in the net, which the team hopes that it can improve on with the right roster moves.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Buffalo Sabres Expected To Sign Curtis Lazar To One-Year Deal
The Buffalo Sabres are close to agreeing with unrestricted free agent Curtis Lazar to a one-year deal when the free-agency period opens on Monday, according to Sportsnet’s Chris Johnston. Lazar did not receive a qualifying offer from Calgary earlier this week, which allowed him to become an unrestricted free agent.
While hardly a blockbuster of a deal, the Sabres hope they can develop the play of Lazar who has struggled to succeed at the professional level. Lazar has always been considered a top prospect since his junior days and was a first-round pick in 2013 by the Ottawa Senators. He was known for his scoring as he tallied 99 goals over his final three seasons with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL. While he immediately joined the Senators when he went pro, he put up just six goals in each of his first two seasons, finally being sent down to the AHL the following year before Ottawa traded him to Calgary at the trade deadline in 2017. However, Lazar struggled even more after that, scoring three goals over the next season and a half. He played all, but one game, with the Stockton Heat last season.
The Sabres are hoping he can develop into a bottom-line depth option for a cheap price. Considered to be a great locker-room guy, he does possess leadership skills. During the 2015 World Junior Championships, he was captain of Canada’s gold-medal team with Connor McDavid and Sam Reinhart.