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Buffalo Sabres Sign Henri Jokiharju

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Rather than wait for an arbitrator to sort out his next contract, the Buffalo Sabres, and Henri Jokiharju have agreed to a one-year, $3.1MM contract. The deal will keep Jokiharju in Buffalo for his sixth season with the team and he will become an unrestricted free agent upon expiration.

Jokiharju is coming off arguably the best individual season of his career as he scored three goals and 20 points in 74 games for the Sabres while averaging nearly 19 minutes of ice time per night. The Finnish defenseman has become much better defensively as he led the team with a +14 rating and finished the season with a 92.0% on-ice save percentage in all situations. He didn’t spend too much time this past season on Buffalo’s special teams but would be the first option in case of injury.

The deal also ensures that the Sabres will bring back a nearly identical defensive core to last season as they improved dramatically in keeping the puck out of their net. During the 2022-23 NHL season Buffalo finished 26th in the league in goals against per game with a 3.62 mark and watched it fall to 2.96 this past season which was good for 11th in the league. If the defensive can hold strong and the offense can rebound to the tenacity it showed during the 2022-23 season, the Sabres should be well positioned to earn a playoff spot this upcoming season.

Buffalo now has approximately $13.7MM left in cap space to work with and new contracts are needed for remaining restricted free agents Peyton Krebs, Beck Malenstyn, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. None of the three should eat much into that number especially if the Sabres can keep them on shorter-term contracts.

Sabres Acquire Ryan McLeod, Trade Matt Savoie To Oilers

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3:33 PM: The Sabres organization have confirmed the trade with Edmonton.

3:08 PM: According to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the Edmonton Oilers and Buffalo Sabres are working on a trade that would send Ryan McLeod to the American Northeast. In a follow-up report, Friedman suggests the Oilers will receive forward prospect Matt Savoie from the Sabres and will additionally send Tyler Tullio to Buffalo.

The Sabres were intent on improving their middle six and bottom six this summer and will acquire McLeod as he enters the last year of a two-year, $4.2MM contract. Featuring breakneck speed and a high motor in the offensive zone, it will be difficult to find a better player than McLeod to plug into the Sabres bottom-six. During the past three years in south-central Alberta, McLeod has suited up in 209 games for the Oilers, scoring 32 goals and 74 points while averaging 13:43 of ice time per night.

Outside of the topical statistics, McLeod is an analytical dream. He has averaged a 52.7% CorsiFor% throughout his career which will give the Sabres a boost in the possession game after finishing the 2023-24 season with a 51.2% team average in the category. According to HockeyReference, McLeod has an E +/- of 20.3 throughout his career showing that he limits his opponent’s ability to score when he is on the ice. The Sabres improved considerably in this department last season, and McLeod will help continue that effort and be an effective penalty killer.

Tullio is also heading to the Sabres organization and will likely start the year with the team’s AHL affiliate Rochester Americans. The Oilers selected Tullio with the 126th overall selection of the 2020 NHL Draft and he has spent the last two years playing for the Bakersfield Condors. Tullio has scored 22 goals and 47 points over 117 games in AHL Bakersfield and should slot into a bottom-six role with the Americans.

Edmonton will not come away unhappy from this deal as they’ve acquired quite a prospect in Savoie. The young center is two years removed from being the ninth overall pick of the 2022 NHL Draft and recently finished his playing days in the Western Hockey League. Savoie split the 2023-24 WHL season between the Wenatchee Wild and Moose Jaw Warriors in a season where he scored 30 goals and 71 points in only 34 games. Continuing to prove his offensive prowess in the playoffs, Savoie scored 10 goals and 24 points in 19 postseason contests for the Warriors as he led his team to the Memorial Cup semifinals.

Savoie eventually made his professional debut last season in AHL Rochester where he scored two goals and five points in six contests. One could reasonably assume that Savoie will start the 2024-25 NHL season with the Condors but could be a sneaky option to be called up and placed next to Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl. Whatever his pathway is, the Oilers bring in a cost-effective option who can immediately play in the team’s top six.

Two-Way Signings: Schueneman, Aspirot, Gaudette, Gambrell, Poolman, Richard, Entwistle

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The first day of NHL free agency saw over $1B spent for the first time in league history. Much of that went to stars across the league, though general managers are also having to focus on building up their farm programs. Here are five smaller names signed on Tuesday. Each of these deals carry a $775K cap hit at the NHL level, unless otherwise specified.

  • The St. Louis Blues have signed defenseman Corey Schueneman to a one-year contract. Schueneman, 28, appeared in 64 games with the Colorado Eagles this season, netting four goals, 22 points, 24 penalty minutes, and a +2. He’s a quick-paced, hard-shooting defender who carries a lot of heft in his frame, even at 5-foot-11. He’s already made his NHL debut, appearing in 31 games with Montreal between 2021 and 2023 and scoring two goals and seven points. Schueneman is likely set for a role on the Springfield Thunderbirds lineup, where he’ll compete for ice time with Blues prospects like Marc-Andre Gaudet and Hunter Skinner.
  • The Calgary Flames have re-signed defender Jonathan Aspirot to a one-year contract. Aspirot, 25, spent 66 games with the Calgary Wranglers last season, scoring a career-high 33 points and adding 80 penalty minutes and a -6. It was Aspirot’s first year in Calgary, after spending four years with the Belleville Senators. He totaled 63 points in 161 games with Belleville, and will now be set to reassume his top-end role with the Wranglers next season.
  • Belleville is due for their own reinforcements, with the Ottawa Senators signing Adam Gaudette to a one-year deal (Twitter link). Gaudette, 27, led the AHL with 44 goals last season, in his pursuit of 71 points across 67 games with the Springfield Thunderbirds. It was a breakout year for Gaudette, after totaling 27 goals and 51 points in 65 games between the Toronto Marlies and Thunderbirds in 2022-23. Gaudette was formerly a top prospect in the NHL, appearing in 220 games across six seasons in the NHL. He’s only managed 27 goals and 70 points in those appearances, though his recent scoring could suggest upside still untapped. The Senators will hope that’s the case, as they position Gaudette for a premier role in the AHL next year.
  • The Columbus Blue Jackets have signed forward Dylan Gambrell to a one-year deal. Gambrell spent all of this seaosn in the minor leagues, playing in 66 games with the Marlies. He managed 14 goals and 36 points – his highest AHL scoring since the 2018-19 season. Gambrell has been based much more in the NHL over the last six seasons, totaling 233 games and 40 points. He’ll be set for a top line role with the Cleveland Monsters, and push for a spot near the bottom of Columbus’ NHL lineup.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have signed defenseman Colton Poolman to a one-year deal (Twitter link). Poolman, 28, has spent the entirety of his four-year pro career in the Flames organization to date. The younger brother of Canucks defenseman Tucker Poolman had three goals and three assists in 66 games for the AHL’s Calgary Wranglers last season.
  • The Philadelphia Flyers have signed forward Anthony Richard to a two-year deal (Twitter link). Richard spent 59 games with the Providence Bruins last year, netting 25 goals and 55 points. It was a small step down for Richard, after netting 30 goals and 67 points last year. He’s also totaled 24 NHL games since 2018, scoring eight points. Richard should be set for a starring role with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, with a chance to push for the NHL roster.
  • The Florida Panthers signed MacKenzie Entwistle to a one-year deal. Entwistle, 24, has spent most of the last three seasons on the Chicago Blackhawks lineup, though he’s managed just 33 points in 188 games. He’ll now join the reigning Stanley Cup champions, though his two-way deal suggests he’ll have to work his way up to the NHL from an AHL start.

Minor Free Agent Signings: Atlantic Division

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With over 180 deals signed during the first day of free agency yesterday, some smaller names may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Here’s a list of names that have inked two-way deals with Atlantic Division clubs since the market opened yesterday, per CapFriendly. Some of these may have been included in our main coverage yesterday, while others went under the radar. All contracts carry the league-minimum $775K cap hit unless stated otherwise). Those listed here are likely to begin 2024-25 with each team’s AHL affiliate.

Boston Bruins

F Cole Koepke (one year)
D Jordan Oesterle (two years)
D Billy Sweezey (two years)
F Riley Tufte (one year)
F Jeffrey Viel (one year)

Buffalo Sabres

F Joshua Dunne (two years)
F Mason Jobst (one year)
F Brett Murray (one year)
D Jack Rathbone (one year)
G Felix Sandström (one year)

Detroit Red Wings

F Sheldon Dries (two years)
F Joe Snively (one year)

Florida Panthers

F Rasmus Asplund (one year)

Montreal Canadiens

none

Ottawa Senators

D Jeremy Davies (one year)
F Hayden Hodgson (one year)
F Garrett Pilon (two years)
D Filip Roos (one year)

Tampa Bay Lightning

D Derrick Pouliot (one year)
D Steven Santini (one year)
F Jesse Ylönen (one year)

Toronto Maple Leafs

none

Sabres Sign James Reimer

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Goaltender James Reimer has signed a one-year, one-way deal with the Sabres, per a team release. Initially announced as a two-way deal but quickly changed, the contract will pay him $1MM this season.

Reimer, 36, is coming off a middling 2023-24 campaign. He opened the season as part of a three-goalie rotation with the Red Wings alongside Ville Husso and Alex Lyon, but an injury to Husso early on upgraded him to a full-time backup role. The veteran netminder finished the season with decent numbers overall, posting a .904 SV% and 3.11 GAA with two shutouts in 25 games for the Wings with an 11-8-2 record. He was in no danger of ever stealing the starting role from the breakout journeyman Lyon, but he was serviceable and much-improved from a difficult 2022-23 season with the Sharks (.890 SV%, 3.48 GAA in 43 GP).

A league-average netminder over the course of his 14-year, 501-game career, it’s a bit surprising Reimer couldn’t find a home with more guaranteed playing opportunities next season. Instead, he’ll likely serve as veteran insurance for Buffalo’s young goalie duo of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi, the latter of whom projects to be ready for full-time NHL action this season after recording a .927 SV% in 26 games with AHL Rochester last year.

Reimer’s $1MM cap hit will make it easier to sneak him through waivers if he doesn’t crack the roster out of camp compared to a league-minimum deal. If he ends up as third on their depth chart and is assigned to Rochester, it would be his first time in the minors since 2010-11 with the Maple Leafs.

Sabres Sign Nicolas Aubé-Kubel, Jacob Bryson, Dennis Gilbert, Jack Rathbone

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The Sabres have added to their flurry of depth signings today, confirming deals for UFA winger Nicolas Aubé-Kubel (one year, $1.5MM), defenseman Jacob Bryson (one year, $900K) and defenseman Dennis Gilbert (one year, $825K). The team also confirmed the previously reported signings of Jason Zucker and Sam Lafferty.

PuckPedia later reported that the Sabres also inked depth defenseman Jack Rathbone to a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K NHL/$500K AHL.

Aubé-Kubel’s stock has improved after being an early-season waiver claim two years ago.  Since then, he became a regular role player for the Capitals.  Last season, the 28-year-old played in 60 games for Washington, recording six goals and ten assists along with a career-high 159 hits while logging a little over 12 minutes a night.  With the Sabres looking to add some grit to their bottom six group, they’ve elected to reunite Aubé-Kubel with Beck Malenstyn, who was acquired back at the draft.

As for Bryson, his stint in unrestricted free agent was short-lived after being non-tendered by the team yesterday.  The 26-year-old had a limited role with Buffalo last season, getting into just 36 games where he had eight points while averaging a little under 15 minutes a night.  His $1.85MM contract helped get him through waivers unclaimed, resulting in him seeing action in ten games with AHL Rochester as well.  Bryson is likely to still have a depth role with the Sabres next season but it will be at a much more manageable price point this time around.

Gilbert, meanwhile, spent all of last season at the NHL level with the Flames but playing time was hard to come by.  While he missed a handful of games with a concussion, he was also a frequent healthy scratch.  In the end, the 27-year-old played in 34 games, picking up a goal and six assists along with 49 blocks and 59 hits while logging a little more than 12 minutes a night.  He could battle for an end-of-roster spot with Buffalo in training camp but could also be earmarked for a key role with AHL Rochester.

In 2021-22, Rathbone picked up 40 points in 39 games with AHL Abbotsford and it looked like a full-time promotion to the NHL could soon be forthcoming.  However, that didn’t come to fruition.  The 25-year-old was moved to Pittsburgh last year in an early-season trade but played exclusively with AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, recording 24 points in 67 games.  He’ll be ticketed for a regular role with the Americans where he’ll hope to play his way into his first NHL action since 2021-22.

Sabres Sign Jason Zucker

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Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff reports the Buffalo Sabres have agreed to a one-year, $5MM contract with free agent forward Jason Zucker.

Zucker, 32, projects to be a cheaper veteran replacement for Jeff Skinner, who had the final three seasons of his $9MM AAV contract bought out on Saturday. Unfortunately, he’s also a lower-ceiling option. Zucker had just 14 goals in 69 games split between the Coyotes and Predators last season, his lowest offensive output in a healthy season since 2015-16.

He’s still a viable depth scoring option, just likely not in a top-six role for a team intent on making the playoffs. Buffalo likely believes there’s some rebound potential they can unlock by sticking him with some faster, younger linemates – potentially in the top six alongside Dylan Cozens and Jack Quinn. However, Zucker is seven years removed from his career-best 33-goal, 64-point season in Minnesota – is it fair to expect him to sniff rediscovering that?

Zucker does play a physical game for his smallish frame (5’11”, 192 lbs), though, an area Skinner’s game notably lacked. It’s a facet of Buffalo’s team game they’re likely looking to improve under head coach Lindy Ruff next season. Unlike Skinner, Zucker also has a strong history of recent possession numbers and plays a much more well-rounded game. Still, for a $5MM price tag, they’re likely hoping for at least 20 goals and 45 points out of him this year.

Sabres Sign Sam Lafferty, Josh Dunne, Felix Sandström

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Making a solid addition to the team’s bottom six — Chris Johnston of TSN reports the Buffalo Sabres are expected to sign forward Sam Lafferty. Per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, the contract will be a two-year, $4MM contract between Lafferty and Buffalo.

Buffalo has also signed forward Joshua Dunne to a two-year contract, per Andy Strickland (Twitter link). Strickland adds that the deal will be one-way in the second year. They’ve also added goalie Felix Sandström on a two-way deal, per TSN’s Darren Dreger.

Heading into the offseason, the Sabres were looking to upgrade the team’s bottom-six and the signing of Lafferty does just that. Lafferty followed up a 2022-23 season split between the Chicago Blackhawks and Toronto Maple Leafs which saw him score 12 goals and 27 points in 70 games with 13 goals and 24 points in 79 games with the Vancouver Canucks this past season. On the defensive side of the puck, Lafferty has put up 92.9% and 91.3% on-ice save percentages in the last two years, respectively. The only criticism of Lafferty’s game may be his work in the dot as he only mustered 150 faceoff wins in 356 attempts for the Canucks last year.

Aside from Lafferty, Dunne and Sandstrom will likely start the year for the Sabres AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans. Dunne is coming off a disappointing regular season with the Cleveland Monsters of the AHL as he scored two goals and seven points in 25 games. While finding consistency after an injury is always difficult, Dunne performed well for the Monsters in the 2024 Calder Cup playoffs scoring seven goals and 11 points in 14 postseason contests.

Sandstrom represents a solid addition to organizational depth at the goaltender position. Although Buffalo will hope Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi will receive the majority of starts next season, Sandstrom has plenty of experience as a backup at the NHL level. Two years ago, Sandstrom spent the year as a backup for the Philadelphia Flyers as he posted a 3-12-3 record in 18 starts while earning a .880 save percentage and 3.72 goals against average.

Sabres Attempting To Re-Sign Zemgus Girgensons

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  • The Buffalo Sabres are still waiting to hear if forward Zemgus Girgensons plans to test free agency (as per Lance Lysowski). It was reported a month ago that the Sabres wouldn’t re-sign the 30-year-old, but they have reportedly offered him a contract to stay in Buffalo. The Riga, Latvia native has spent his entire 10-year NHL career with the Sabres, dressing in 688 games. Girgensons has only topped 20 points twice in his career and not since the 2014-15 season.  He signed a one-year $2.5MM last June to forgo free agency but had the worst offensive season of his career with just eight goals and six assists in 63 games. While he didn’t produce much offense, his possession numbers at even-strength weren’t awful with a CF% of 49.2%.

Sabres Acquire Beck Malenstyn From Capitals

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The Buffalo Sabres have acquired the rights to pending-restricted free agent Beck Malenstyn from the Washington Capitals, sending Pick 43 in the 2024 NHL Draft the other way.

Beck Malenstyn was one of two notable RFAs in Washington’s system, alongside forward Connor McMichael. The two headlined a stressful summer for the Capitals – who are facing three remaining free agents, including McMichael and Max Pacioretty, with just $7.6MM in cap space if you factor in the team receiving LTIR relief for Nicklas Backstrom. Having recently acquired the ever-cheap Logan Thompson, Washington now sits just two contracts short of a full NHL roster.

For their role in helping Washington sort out their summer, Buffalo receives the hefty frame of Malenstyn, who carved out a meaningful role on Washington’s third line as a rookie this year. He recorded 21 points and 25 penalty minutes in 81 games through his inaugural season – more points than he’s managed in any one AHL season, despite spending the last four years with the Hershey Bears. Before his move to the Capitals lineup, Malenstyn’s career-high sat at just 16 points, recorded in 65 games with Hershey in 2021-22. He even took a step back in scoring last year, posting just 10 points in 40 games while supporting Hershey to their first of back-to-back Calder Cups.

Now headed to Buffalo, Malenstyn will serve as relief to a Sabres team that may lose each of Zemgus Girgensons, Victor Olofsson, and Eric Robinson to unrestricted free agency. If that is the case, Malenstyn would vie for a strong role on the third-line wing, though he’ll face pressure from top prospects like Matthew Savoie, Isak Rosen, and Jiri Kulich.

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