Sabres Don't Plan To Pursue In-Season Extension With Reinhart
- While the Sabres inked Jack Eichel to a massive extension on Tuesday, the team has no plans to pursue a new deal during the season with forward Sam Reinhart, reports Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News. The second overall pick from 2015 had a career-high 47 points in 2017-18 but saw his goal total drop from 23 to 17. Buffalo has toyed with the idea of deploying Reinhart as their third line center this season and while the versatility to play down the middle is certainly an asset, playing in the bottom six won’t help his production in this, his contract year.
Montreal Canadiens Acquire Nicolas Deslauriers From Buffalo Sabres
After picking up Jordan Nolan on waivers, the Buffalo Sabres have decided that they no longer have as much need for Nicolas Deslauriers, shipping him off to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for defenseman Zach Redmond. Montreal has already announced that Deslauriers will be assigned to the Laval Rocket of the AHL.
Deslauriers has filled a fourth-line role with the Sabres for parts of the last four seasons, registering just 30 points in 211 games. His high-energy style is certainly effective, as he’s also racked up 627 hits during that time. Still, the complete lack of offensive upside is disappointing for a player that was once an 18-goal man in the AHL, and does possess a good shot when he gets around to using it. For the Canadiens, he will offer little more than a depth option should they face injury.
Redmond on the other hand is a 29-year old defenseman who is now on his fourth NHL team. The journeyman was actually originally drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers, before making his NHL debut with Winnipeg a few years later. In 130 career games, Redmond has registered 38 points and has continually shown a knack for scoring at the AHL level.
A big enough body that can play both ends of the rink, he doesn’t possess the upside of a full-time NHL defender and will likely serve as a veteran addition to a Rochester Americans club that has seen renewed interest from the front office. New GM Jason Botterill has said he wanted to create an atmosphere of winning in the minor leagues, and Redmond certainly can help with that. In 35 career AHL playoff games, he has 19 points.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Jack Eichel To Eight-Year Deal
The Buffalo Sabres have signed franchise cornerstone Jack Eichel to an eight-year extension worth $80MM. The contract—which kicks in for the 2018-19 season—will pay Eichel an average annual value of $10MM, putting him in rare company. Only Connor McDavid, Anze Kopitar, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Carey Price will earn at least $10MM in the 2018-19 season. The extension will buy four years of free agency, sending Eichel to the open market at 29. The contract breaks down as follows:
2018-19: $10MM salary- 2019-20: $10MM salary
- 2020-21: $2.5MM salary + $7.5MM signing bonus
- 2021-22: $10MM salary
- 2022-23: $2.5MM salary + $7.5MM signing bonus
- 2023-24: $10MM salary
- 2024-25: $10MM salary
- 2025-26: $10MM salary
Selected second overall in the 2015 draft, Eichel immediately left Boston University for the professional ranks and make an impact as a rookie. He finished with 24 goals and 56 points in the 2015-16 season, but still finished just fourth in Calder Trophy voting as the league’s top rookie. Artemi Panarin, Shayne Gostisbehere and McDavid all finished above him despite Eichel coming second in rookie scoring and showing he could survive as a top-line center in the NHL.
Last year, he suffered a high ankle sprain early in the season and was limited to just 61 games but once again proved his elite talent by scoring 57 points down the stretch. That total put Eichel 11th among forwards in points-per-game, ahead of players like Panarin, Vladimir Tarasenko and Jamie Benn.
Eichel’s deal—like his career—will certainly be compared to draftmate McDavid’s eight-year, $100MM contract. While McDavid dealt with his own injury problems as a rookie, he bounced back this season to capture nearly every individual trophy available. Though Eichel isn’t quite at that level, the Sabres wanted to spend no time waiting around before locking him in long-term. As the new face of the franchise, he’ll be leaned on as the go-to offensive weapon and first-line center for some time. Ryan O’Reilly will offer a strong partner for him on the second line, but the Sabres future will hinge on Eichel’s improvement.
The deal has sent shockwaves throughout the league, as though Eichel was always expected to get a large contract extension many didn’t believe he would crack the $10MM mark. While he’s certainly talented enough, he still hasn’t won any individual awards or taken his team to the playoffs. As other teams look to extend their young stars—Toronto and Auston Matthews in particular—Eichel’s deal now represents a second data point behind McDavid to compare to. Matthews, whose 40 goals and 69 points easily eclipsed Eichel’s rookie season, will now have two comparable extensions to bring up in negotiations next summer. Should he lead the Maple Leafs to the playoffs once again, and even surpass his own rookie totals, something pushing close to McDavid’s $12.5MM per season is not out of the question.
Still, some of Buffalo’s need to extend Eichel comes directly from that lack of playoff success. With the team struggling to put a playoff contender on the ice, letting Eichel get anywhere close to free agency (even restricted as it would have been) would have put a sour taste in the mouths of many fans. The 20-year old wasn’t going to give up money on a long-term deal before he’d really proven what he can do over a full season, so the team had to come in with an offer that would be in line with the other top players in the league. It doesn’t come without risk, as Eichel could regress or have more injury problems, but they’re willing to hitch their wagon to him right away.
NBC Sports’ Kathryn Tappen was first to announce that a deal had been reached, while TSN’s Darren Dreger gave us the financial details.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Griffith Practices With Top Line
- Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News writes that Buffalo Sabres free agent signee Seth Griffith has not just made the team, but is currently practicing with Jack Eichel and Evander Kane on the first line. Whether that holds up is unknown, but the 24-year-old journeyman who played for three different teams last year, has impressed Buffalo management. “His attitude is infectious,” head coach Phil Housley said. “He’s got to play like he has been the last two games. He has to be up in the forecheck. I know he’s a smaller guy but he finds way to get pucks and win puck battles.”
Montreal’s Holland, Carr Among Seven On Waivers
While Saturday’s group heading to the waiver wire is not as large or containing as many noteworthy names as each of the last few days, it contains over 150 2016-17 NHL games played and a handful of players with some substantial NHL pedigree. The following seven players were placed on waivers today:
F Peter Holland, Montreal Canadiens
F Daniel Carr, Montreal Candiens
F Anton Rodin, Vancouver Canucks
F Nicolas Deslauriers, Buffalo Sabres
D Taylor Fedun, Buffalo Sabres
D Viktor Loov, New Jersey Devils
G Tom McCollum, Detroit Red Wings
The two biggest names on the list are the pair of Montreal Canadiens wingers. Carr, 25, has played in 58 games in the past season and a half with the Habs after signing with the team following a prolific collegiate career at Union College. While Carr only recorded nine points in his 33 2016-17 games, many expected him to take on a larger role this season. Instead, the Canadiens will try to send him down to the AHL to begin the new season. The more surprising decision may be Holland, who signed a two-year deal with Montreal as an unrestricted free agent this off-season. Granted, the reason the 26-year-old was able to sign such a deal was that he was first not qualified by the Arizona Coyotes, but Holland is still a veteran of 243 NHL games and showed promise with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 2014 to 2016. Holland is in a very similar situation to Kenny Agostino, recently placed on waivers by the Boston Bruins after signing with the team this off-season. Both have shown ample ability on the ice, but have been unable to show the consistency of an NHL regular. Agostino cleared waivers and Holland may too, but there is some risk involved in this move by Montreal.
Training Camp Cuts And Recalls: 09/30/17
With season-opening rosters due on Tuesday, teams are in the process of making their final cuts before the 2017-18 campaign gets underway. As always, we’ll have all the movement right here throughout the day.
Buffalo Sabres
F Justin Bailey – Rochester (AHL)
F Nicolas Deslauriers – waivers for purpose of assignment
D Taylor Fedun – waivers for purpose of assignment
D Cody Goloubef – release
Detroit Red Wings
D Robbie Russo – Grand Rapids (AHL)
D Filip Hronek – Grand Rapids (AHL)
F Corey Elkins – released from PTO
Los Angeles Kings
D Chris Lee – released from PTO
Montreal Canadiens
F Daniel Carr – waivers for purpose of assignment
D Jakub Jerabek – Laval (AHL)
F Michael McCarron – Laval (AHL)
F Peter Holland – waivers for purpose of assignment
New Jersey Devils
G Ken Appleby – Binghampton (AHL)
D Viktor Loov – waivers for purpose of assignment
F Kevin Rooney – Binghampton (AHL)
Vancouver Canucks
F Anton Rodin – waivers for purpose of assignment
Some teams will also be recalling players to suit up for their final preseason game. Here are those moves.
D Tommy Cross (BOS)
F Jordan Szwarz (BOS)
D Jakub Zboril (BOS)
D Devon Toews (NYI)
Training Camp Cuts: 09/28/17
Just a few more days until the 2017-18 NHL regular season is underway, and teams are starting to make their final roster decisions. We saw tons of cuts yesterday, and today should be no different. We’ll keep track of all the day’s movement right here.
Anaheim Ducks
F Mitch Hults – San Diego (AHL)
D Brian Cooper – San Diego (AHL)
D Marcus Pettersson – San Diego (AHL)
D Andy Welinski – San Diego (AHL)
F Scott Sabourin – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Corey Tropp – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Sam Carrick – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Mike Liambas – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Steven Oleksy – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Buffalo Sabres
F Nicholas Baptiste – Rochester (AHL)
G Linus Ullmark – Rochester (AHL)
Carolina Hurricanes
F Nicolas Roy – Charlotte (AHL)
F Valentin Zykov – Charlotte (AHL)
F Aleksi Saarela – Charlotte (AHL)
F Jeremy Smith – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Jake Chelios – Waivers for purpose of assignment
D Trevor Carrick – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Chicago Blackhawks
G Collin Delia – Rockford (AHL)
Edmonton Oilers
F Brad Malone – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Florida Panthers
G Harri Sateri – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Los Angeles Kings
F Michael Mersch – Ontario (AHL)
F Andrew Crescenzi – Ontario (AHL)
Montreal Canadiens
D Matt Taormina – Laval (AHL)
F Chris Terry – Waivers for purpose of assignment
New York Rangers
F Lias Andersson – Frolunda (SHL)
F Vinny Lettieri – Hartford (AHL)
F Boo Nieves – Hartford (AHL)
D Neal Pionk – Hartford (AHL)
D Ryan Graves – Hartford (AHL)
F Matt Puempel – Waivers for purpose of assignment
F Bobby Farnham – Released from PTO
Ottawa Senators
G Andrew Hammond – Waivers for purpose of assignment
Pittsburgh Penguins
F Tom Sestito – Waivers for purpose of assignment
St. Louis Blues
F Beau Bennett – Chicago (AHL)
D Petteri Lindbohm – Chicag0 (AHL)
D Chris Butler – San Antonio (AHL)
Washington Capitals
F Travis Boyd – Hershey (AHL)
D Tyler Lewington – Hershey (AHL)
D Jonas Siegenthaler – Hershey (AHL)
G Pheonix Copley – Hershey (AHL)
Winnipeg Jets
G Eric Comrie – Manitoba (AHL)
Jordan Nolan Claimed By Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres have claimed forward Jordan Nolan from the Los Angeles Kings, after the team placed him on waivers yesterday in an attempt to send him to the minor leagues. Nolan was a somewhat surprising cut after playing at least 44 games for the Kings in each of the last five seasons.
Nolan, 28, is a big-bodied gritty fourth-line forward who actually saw the most ice-time of his career last season, averaging almost 11 minutes a night. While he’s not an offensive force—his career-high is 10 points in a season—he can still add some toughness and quite a bit of NHL experience to a Buffalo lineup that will be relying on several young players. Buffalo GM Jason Botterill had this to say about his newest acquisition:
We’re happy to bring Jordan into the mix. His size and speed, along with his experience with a successful organization like the Kings, make him an asset to the organization.
There is no guarantee that Nolan makes the Sabres either, but he’ll have a chance to show what he can do. The team may try to sneak him through waivers of their own in the next few days, which would allow the Kings to reclaim him.
Lisa Dillman of NHL.com was first to break the news.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images
Toronto Marlies With Several NHL Veterans In Camp
While many AHL camps have gotten underway in recent days largely with the early cuts from their NHL affiliates and ECHL hopefuls as “campers”, the Toronto Marlies drew some attention today when they announced a 40-man initial roster featuring several familiar names.
Among the many in attendance are NHL veterans Jordan Caron, Brandon Gormley, Matt Hackett, and Mackenzie Skapski. Caron and Gormley are especially interesting as past first-round picks, while Hackett and Skapski are two of the very few remaining free agent goaltenders on the market. All four players have value in their own right, yet end up not on NHL contracts, or in NHL camps, or even on AHL contracts. Why?
Skapski may be the easiest to explain. After two impressive spot starts at the young age of 21 with the New York Rangers in 2014-15, Skapski’s career has been in free fall. The next year, Skapski posted a 3.00+ GAA and nearly a .900 save percentage in the AHL and ECHL. Those numbers continued to plummet this past season, with Skapski making 13 rough starts in the AHL and spending the majority of the season in the ECHL.
The once-promising Hackett also made his NHL debut at 21 years old with the Minnesota Wild back in 2011-12. Hackett made 12 appearances with the Wild in his rookie season and had an impressive 2.37 GAA and .922 save percentage. While that level of performance was unsustainable, Hackett continued to make a living as a backup or third-string option for the Wild and Buffalo Sabres for years, before taking on more of an AHL depth role for the Anaheim Ducks since 2015. However, too much depth in net, as well as injury issues, limited Hackett to only seven starts last season, in which he was less than spectacular. More of an unknown commodity now than the future-starter tag from years ago, Hackett needs to prove himself once again at the pro level.
Gormley, the 13th overall pick in 2010 by the Arizona Coyotes, has not had the career expected of him when he was selected before fellow defensemen like Derek Forbort, Mark Pysyk, and Justin Faulk early in the draft. Gormley has just 58 games of NHL experience and has not played at the highest level since midway through the 2015-16 season. However, Gormley had been a productive AHLer, with 75 points, more than half a point per game, through his first three pro seasons. In the past two seasons? Only 21 points in 91 games. With the points disappearing, Gormley faces the possibility that his career could be coming to an end soon at just 25 years old. Gormley could use a big camp to keep that from coming to fruition.
Caron is probably the most notable player in any AHL camp on a tryout basis, not just the Marlies’, as the Boston Bruins’ 2009 first-rounder was a “black ace” call-up by the St. Louis Blues mere months ago. While Caron has the appearance of having stuck around the NHL, in actuality he has only played in four NHL games since the end of the 2014-15 season. Nevertheless, the 6’3″, 205-lb. power forward is still a veteran of over 150 NHL games and has shown flashes of ability from time to time. If any of these four player can make the Marlies – and make a difference – it is Caron.
Evan Rodrigues, Jake McCabe Dealing With Injuries
- Buffalo Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues was injured this weekend in a preseason game against the Toronto Maple Leafs when Andreas Borgman crumpled him into the boards, and will be held out for the time being with a hand injury. Head coach Phil Housley was non-committal when asked if it would linger into the regular season, similar to the way he spoke about Jake McCabe‘s upper-body injury. Both players were expected to be in the lineup for opening night, which now could open spots for some others to start the year in Buffalo instead of Rochester.