- The Buffalo Sabres should get a pair of wingers back shortly, says Bill Hoppe of the Buffalo Hockey Beat. Per Sabres head coach Don Granato, Rasmus Asplund, who’s listed as day-to-day may have been able to play last night, but given his physical style of play, it was better to let him continue to rest. Captain Kyle Okposo, who has missed the last six games with a lower-body injury, skated on his own Wednesday and is expected to join the team on Friday for their morning skate. After losing eight straight, the Sabres have now won two in a row. Getting their full lineup back on the ice should, hopefully, help them continue on this winning path.
Sabres Rumors
Buffalo Sabres Re-Assign Riley Sheahan
The Buffalo Sabres have announced that veteran center Riley Sheahan has been re-assigned to the team’s AHL affiliate, the Rochester Americans.
The move comes after the team announced yesterday that defenseman Mattias Samuelsson would be returning to the lineup for tonight’s contest against the Montreal Canadiens.
For the Sabres to be able to activate Samuelsson, they needed to clear a roster spot, so the team has chosen to send Sheahan down.
Sheahan, 30, has been a priority call-up for the Sabres this season, functioning as a depth center on their NHL roster and a veteran presence in Rochester. In six AHL games this year Sheahan has three points, and in two NHL games, Sheahan has yet to make his mark on the score sheet.
Sheahan is a veteran of over 600 NHL games and should be expected to occupy this role as the Sabres’ top veteran depth center for the rest of this season. Playing on a $950k cap hit, Sheahan will be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Mattias Samuelsson Expected To Return For Sabres
- Speaking of getting a defenseman into the lineup, the Buffalo Sabres are expecting to have Mattias Samuelsson dressed tomorrow night. The team has gone into a tailspin since he was injured earlier this season and is currently on an eight-game losing streak. Buffalo went 4-1 with Samuelsson, who signed a seven-year extension in early October.
Buffalo Sabres, Kyle Okposo Not Yet Discussing Extension
- Also from tonight’s 32 Thoughts, Marek touches on Buffalo Sabres captain Kyle Okposo, who is in the final year of a seven-year, $42MM contract he signed during the 2016 offseason. When the team named him captain just before the start of the season, both sides appeared interested in continuing their relationship with one another. Even if true, Marek says that neither side is currently in a hurry to get an extension done. That doesn’t necessarily mean a new deal to keep Okposo in Buffalo won’t happen, but could point to both sides wanting to avoid distraction, especially as the team struggles, losing their eighth game in a row tonight against the Toronto Maple Leafs, or to simply give both sides more clarity on Okposo’s specific value. Once a star in the NHL, Okposo’s production dropped off significantly over the life of this contract, but a recent bounce-back has breathed new life into Okposo’s career.
What Your Team Is Thankful For: Buffalo Sabres
As Thanksgiving and the holiday season approaches, PHR will be taking a look at what teams are thankful for in 2022-23. There also might be a few things your team would like down the road. We’ll examine what’s gone well in the early going and what could improve as the season rolls on for the Buffalo Sabres.
Who are the Sabres thankful for?
The man they call “GMKA” in Buffalo has been nothing short of a fan favorite in his short tenure as the GM of the Buffalo Sabres. Since taking over as the full-time GM in the spring of 2020, Adams has completely transformed the Sabres outlook, getting young players to take the next step, signing them long-term, and perhaps his biggest move to date, the trade of Jack Eichel.
Adams inherited a tough situation back in 2020, finding a team that had been rebuilding for nearly a decade with a few tough-to-stomach contracts on the books, but has seemingly done wonders with what he had. Adams replaced former head coach Ralph Krueger halfway through the 2020-21 season, replacing him with Don Granato. Forward Tage Thompson, who had never had more than 14 points in a season, was moved to center under Adams and Granato’s watch and broke out as a star. Rasmus Dahlin, the number one overall pick in 2018, has apparently taken the next step in his development this year as a true superstar defenseman. Winger Jeff Skinner, who’s $9MM AAV seemed to be one of the poorest values in the NHL, has reignited into his old self, recording 63 points last season, and 12 in 17 games to start this season.
The highlight of Adams’ resume would likely be the Eichel trade last fall. In exchange for the team’s captain, who Buffalo was almost compelled to deal, Adams was able to acquire a first-round pick in 2022 (Noah Ostlund), a secound-round pick in 2023, top prospect Peyton Krebs, and Alex Tuch. Thus far, the return is paying dividends, though Krebs has struggled to start this season and the development of their draft selections will be solely on Buffalo, Tuch, an upstate-New York native and life-long Sabres fan, has become a bona fide star in his own right and emotional leader for the team.
There’s more work to do in Buffalo, and it’s no secret that the team has been struggling lately after a strong start, however Adams’ work in his first two-and-a-half years has given the Sabres and their fans plenty to be thankful for. The sort of development seen in their young players, performance from their big contracts, and stability behind the bench is not something seen in Buffalo during this rebuild. While it’s hard to keep waiting after so much time, Adams has created what appears to be a true light at the end of the tunnel.
What are the Sabres thankful for?
Growth of young players and rejuvenation of veterans
Above, we discussed GM Kevyn Adams and his ability to get the most out of veterans like Skinner and young players like Thompson. After such a lengthy rebuild, with more still to come it seems, a lot of the present hope for the Sabres was going to have to come out of the current group the team has locked up, and thankfully for Buffalo, it has.
Starting with the veterans, Skinner will command a $9MM cap hit through 2026-27. That’s obviously a big number, flat cap or not, and Skinner’s 63 points last season and similar pace this season still don’t justify that price. However, after a pair of incredibly disappointing seasons, Skinner seems to have found his scoring touch again. Regardless of his performance, the contract is what it is and it was highly unlikely Buffalo was going to be able to move it. Now, getting as much production as they can out of Skinner will be key, and a 60-point winger is a much welcomed addition to any team’s top-six.
Another veteran turning things around is captain Kyle Okposo. The winger had his own share of disappointing seasons and while he’s now in the final year of his seven-year, $42MM contract, Okposo managed to turn in a productive 2021-22 with 21 goals and 24 assists in 74 games. Just before the start of this season, the team named him captain, with Adams, Granato, and his teammates, praising the person and leader Okposo is.
It’s not only the veteran turnaround to be thankful for in Buffalo, as the younger core including players like Thompson, Tuch, and Dahlin have all taken steps in their development to form what could be the next great group of Sabres players. As mention, Thompson went from a winger with light offensive potential to a powerhouse for the Sabres last season, turning in 38 goals and 30 assists in just 74 games. If that wasn’t enough, Thompson has turned on another gear it seems in 2022-23, leading the team with 22 points in 17 games.
Alex Tuch, who had a previous career-high of 52 points in 74 games, found his old magic once again after coming back from injury last season and making his Sabres debut, recording 38 points in 50 games. The forward has built on that success this year as well, with eight goals and seven assists in his first 17 games. On the backend, Dahlin has transformed himself from a solid, star defenseman into a Norris caliber presence, boasting 19 points in just 16 games so far, including a historic five-game goal streak to start the season. While both players have already shown the ability to be stars already, the consistency and ability to take the next step as Buffalo looks to break out (in the big picture) is something to be thankful for.
What would the Sabres be even more thankful for?
Season-long consistency
Consistency, in many ways, hasn’t been an issue for the Sabres, even in their darkest seasons during their rebuild. The team had constantly struggled, usually with many of the same issues and not much had fixed it. As things have turned around, especially in the last couple years under Adams and Granato, the team has found positive consistency, such as the breakout and stability of players like Thompson and Dahlin, the revitalization of Skinner, or even in more low-key situations, such as the calming presence of veteran goaltender Craig Anderson.
The consistency issues for Buffalo come in something that is, ironically, rooted in consistency: great starts, followed by poor performance. In Buffalo, even with many of the positive turn-arounds they’ve seen, that is holding true again this year. The team started the season 7-3-0 and looked like they were finally back on track, but has since lost seven games in a row, dropping them to 7-10-0. Four of those seven losses have come to some of the league’s best teams, including the Carolina Hurricanes, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, and Boston Bruins, but the other three at the hands of the Arizona Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks and Ottawa Senators, were against teams Buffalo had hoped to be ahead of at this stage.
Now, let’s be realistic, good teams are allowed to lose to bad teams, are allowed to have off nights, and are allowing to have some losing streaks here and there. It happens to the best of them. However, Buffalo has made a habit of looking as though the rebuild is over, starting strong, only to drop off sharply some time early on. As of right now, that trend is being followed. The team is only three games under NHL’s .500 heading into tonight, and the season is far from over. But, the Sabres would be most thankful, beyond a smart signing by their GM or a 40 goal season from their 6’7″ center, for consistent winning over an 82 game season.
What should be on the Sabres’ holiday wish list?
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen seizing the opportunity
Many were confused when the Sabres elected to not only re-sign Craig Anderson, but bring in veteran backup Eric Comrie on a two-year deal, effectively blocking prospect Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s path to an NHL job. Instead, the Sabres opted to send Luukkonen to the Rochester Americans of the AHL where he could carry the load of a full-time starting goaltender and continue his development.
So far, Luukkonen has been, at best, alright with Rochester, while Comrie has had his struggles with Buffalo. But, with Comrie now out a few weeks with a lower-body injury, Luukkonen finds himself on the NHL roster with a shot to impress. This one stint in particular may not be a make-it-or-break it scenario for Luukkonen, who may not figure to get a heavy dose of starts, but it will factor into the Sabres’ opinion of him and the overall picture of where the young Finnish netminder stands as a legitimate NHL option.
A second-round pick by Buffalo in 2017, Luukkonen had dominated overseas before coming to North America. In one OHL season with the Sudbury Wolves, Luukkonen showed he could handle North American hockey before turning pro. Now in the Sabres organization, Luukkonen first proved himself in the ECHL before moving up and working in the AHL. Luukkonen’s AHL time has, again, been alright. The goaltender hasn’t been remarkable enough to force Buffalo to give him a regular shot in the NHL, but not poor to the point of taking him out of the category of true prospect status.
Encouragingly, in his brief time in the NHL, Luukkonen has impressed to an extent, giving the Sabres and their fans hope he could be the next starting goaltender in Buffalo. For that to happen though, Luukkonen will need to take another step sooner rather than later. So, what better time than now to put that on Buffalo’s holiday wish list?
Sabres Claim Tyson Jost Off Waivers From Wild
The Sabres have added some extra depth up front as TSN’s Darren Dreger reports (Twitter link) that they have claimed center Tyson Jost off waivers from Minnesota.
The 24-year-old was acquired by the Wild back at the trade deadline last season in exchange for Nico Sturm. They were hoping that a change of scenery would help Jost to unlock the potential he showed in the past that made him the 10th overall pick in 2016. He was a little better down the stretch last season with six points in 21 games which gave them cause for a little bit of optimism heading into this season.
Unfortunately, things haven’t gone well this season. Jost was limited to just three assists in 12 games while spending a lot of time on the left wing. He was also a healthy scratch in five games and that’s simply not a good return on a $2MM price tag. Unable to trade him, the Wild put Jost on waivers yesterday. His full contract will come off the books which will give GM Bill Guerin considerably more flexibility as he looks to upgrade his roster that currently sits on the outside looking in at the playoff race.
As for Buffalo, it’s a claim that doesn’t carry a lot of risk and there’s a clear path to playing time for Jost. Riley Sheahan is currently playing center on their fourth line and Jost represents a younger, more talented option at this point of his career. If the Sabres envision him on the wing, Anders Bjork has already cleared waivers this season and the Sabres took advantage of that as he was sent back to AHL Rochester in a corresponding move.
Notably, Jost’s contract is a little back-loaded so while his cap hit is $2MM, his qualifying offer next summer stands at $2.25MM, his actual salary this season. He’ll need to show some improvement if he wants a chance at receiving that tender in June; perhaps this change of scenery will be the one to help get him going.
Salary Cap Deep Dive: Buffalo Sabres
Navigating the salary cap is one of the more important tasks for any GM. Teams that can avoid total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation for the 2022-23 season and beyond. This will focus more on players who are regulars on the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Buffalo Sabres
Current Cap Hit: $65,105,451 (under the $82.5MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
F Dylan Cozens (one year, $894K)
F Peyton Krebs (two years, $863K)
F John-Jason Peterka (three years, $856K)
D Owen Power (two years, $917K)
F Jack Quinn (three years, $863K)
Potential Bonuses
Cozens: $850K
Krebs: $412.5K
Peterka: $82.5K
Power: $925K
Quinn: $850K
Total: $3.1195MM
Cozens did well last season in his first full NHL campaign, checking in at just under half a point per game while he’s doing a little better than that this year. He has positioned himself for a bridge deal that would start in the $3MM range but knowing what GM Kevyn Adams has done in terms of trying to lock up some core pieces lately, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Sabres try to work out a long-term agreement that could be closer to twice that amount while buying out some UFA years. Krebs came over as part of the Jack Eichel trade last season and while he’s holding down a regular spot in the lineup, he has yet to score in 15 games this year. While he’s still certainly part of their future plans, it’s looking likely that he’ll be heading for a bridge contract.
Quinn was dominant in the minors last season and expectations were somewhat high for him this year. He hasn’t been overly productive in the early going but it’s only the first year of his contract. A lot could change in the next couple of years which could make him a target to skip the short-term second deal and go straight to the long-term one. Peterka has been quite effective in a middle-six role this year and while he doesn’t have quite the fanfare that Quinn (or even the other two entry-level forwards) has, he could skip the bridge deal if he’s able to lock down a full-time spot in the top six over the next couple of seasons.
Power hasn’t scored yet this season but that’s about the only small blemish. He’s already averaging nearly 24 minutes per game and playing in all situations. This is the type of profile that typically signs a long-term second contract and we’ve seen the high end of that scale hit $9.5MM recently. Power has a long way to go to get to that level for sure but if he lives up to the hype, he’ll be a very expensive rearguard before too long.
Signed Through 2022-23, Non-Entry-Level
G Craig Anderson ($1.5MM, UFA)
F Rasmus Asplund ($825K, RFA)
G Ben Bishop ($4.917MM, UFA)
F Anders Bjork ($1.6MM, RFA)
D Casey Fitzgerald ($750K, RFA)
F Zemgus Girgensons ($2.2MM, UFA)
F Vinnie Hinostroza ($1.7MM, UFA)
D Lawrence Pilut ($750K, UFA)
F Kyle Okposo ($6MM, UFA)
F Riley Sheahan ($950K, UFA)
Potential Bonuses
Anderson: $500K
After some underwhelming years offensively, expectations were somewhat low for Okposo the last couple of years but he had a nice bounce-back season in 2021-22 and is off to a good start this year. $6MM for the captain is certainly out of the question at this stage of his career but a multi-year agreement around half of that doesn’t seem as outlandish as it might have been just a couple of seasons ago. Girgensons has been around for a long time (this is his ninth season) but gone are the days when the hope was that he could eventually move into the top six. He’s a checking forward now that can play both center and the wing. There’s value in that type of player but he shouldn’t cost much more than what he’s making now though another multi-year deal should come his way.
Hinostroza earned this raise on the heels of one of his stronger NHL performances last year but he remains more of a tertiary scorer that plays in the bottom six. His market hasn’t been the strongest in the past so it’s hard to forecast much of a raise for his next potential trip to the open market. Bjork hasn’t been able to establish himself with Buffalo and actually cleared waivers last month. With a $1.8MM qualifying offer on the horizon, he looks like a strong non-tender candidate at the moment. That can’t be said for Asplund who has turned into a quality defensive winger that can chip in a bit offensively as well. With a couple of RFA years remaining, Buffalo could look to do a one-year deal around double his current price or push for a multi-year pact that would push his AAV past the $2MM mark. Sheahan has been on cheap one-year deals the last four seasons and there’s little reason to think that won’t be the case next season as well. At this point, the only question is if he can secure a one-way pact instead of a two-way contract.
Fitzgerald and Pilut largely fall in the same category – players that are trying to establish themselves as NHL regulars. With the former, arbitration rights could put his next deal around the $1MM mark on a one-year agreement while with the latter, he should stay around the minimum if he sticks around the NHL. Returning overseas for a bigger role is definitely a possibility as well.
Bishop is only on Buffalo’s roster on paper. His playing days are done and he’s likely to go back to Dallas next season after it was ruled he couldn’t work for them this year. If someone wants to get creative with LTIR down the stretch, he’s a potential trade candidate. Anderson did well with Buffalo last year, earning himself a raise for this season as well. He’s going to go year to year from here on out which is understandable since he’s 41 but if he’s up for playing another year, a similar-priced deal could be attainable.
Signed Through 2023-24
D Jacob Bryson ($1.85MM, RFA)
G Eric Comrie ($1.8MM, UFA)
D Rasmus Dahlin ($6MM, RFA)
D Henri Jokiharju ($2.5MM, RFA)
G Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen ($837.5K, RFA)
D Ilya Lyubushkin ($2.75MM, UFA)
F Casey Mittelstadt ($2.5MM, RFA)
F Victor Olofsson ($4.75MM, UFA)
Olofsson has been a player that has been a core piece at times and seemingly on the outside looking in at others. That’s part of the reason why he has been on short-term contracts to the point where Adams opted to bridge him into unrestricted free agency. When he’s on, he produces at a top-six rate that’s worthy of this price tag. When he isn’t, he’s not. Over the next two years, teams will have a better idea of which version they’re likely to get in 2024 and will offer accordingly. Mittelstadt has been much better this season after a tough first year on this bridge deal. If he can work his way into a full-time top-six spot by 2024, his next deal could push into the $4MM range. If the early success this year is the outlier though, they’ll have a decision to make about qualifying him at $2.6MM with arbitration rights.
Dahlin is a rare first-overall pick to receive a bridge contract. The decision was certainly defensible as he was coming off a rough performance in 2020-21 and there were questions about his ability to get to his high ceiling. Since then, those questions have gone away rather quickly as Dahlin had a career year last season and has been even better this year while becoming one of the top-scoring blueliners in the league. In doing so, he has shown that he is indeed a franchise defender. With that in mind, tendering the $7.2MM qualifying offer really isn’t the next question for Buffalo – it’s how much more than that will it take to get him to stay away from testing the open market in 2025. A double-digit AAV seems quite likely at this point.
Lyubushkin’s contract seemed a bit rich when it was signed early in free agency last summer but he is filling a spot on their third pairing while playing with the physicality he has shown throughout his career. If he had enough interest back in July to command this deal, it’s reasonable to infer that there could be enough interest in him in 2024 to push this price tag at least a little higher. Jokiharju also struggled a bit in the first season of his three-year bridge deal while injuries haven’t helped things this year. When healthy, he can play in their top four so there shouldn’t be any issues qualifying him at $2.6MM; his production (or lack thereof) will determine if it’s just a small increase from there or a bigger jump toward the $4MM range. Bryson is now a regular on the back end and the goal now for him will be getting into the top four regularly. Doing that would push him close to $3MM on his next deal as it looks like his earnings upside will be somewhat limited due to a lack of offense.
Comrie came over from Winnipeg looking for a chance to play a bigger role and he has received that with Buffalo. However, the results have been mixed so far. Considering he’s making less than a lot of veteran backups, it’s certainly not an above-market contract but he will need to show some improvement if he wants an opportunity to beat that in 2024. Luukkonen is Buffalo’s goalie of the short-term future; at least, that’s the plan. With limited NHL action at this point, he’s not going to have much history to work with when it comes to contract talks. A one-year deal could be done to buy more sides more time to evaluate or the Sabres could come in with a medium-term agreement in the $4MM range that carries some risk but also some upside if he becomes a legitimate starter.
Eric Comrie Out Multiple Weeks With Lower-Body Injury
It’s Craig Anderson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen for the next little while. Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters including Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News that Eric Comrie will be out for multiple weeks with a lower-body injury.
While injury is certainly not what you’re hoping for, sitting Comrie down for a little while might not be the worst thing for the Sabres. The 27-year-old goaltender was getting his first run as a starter in the NHL and struggling to find much consistency, posting an .887 save percentage through 11 games. Without strong goaltending, the Sabres started getting shelled on the scoresheet, and have lost seven in a row.
Comrie isn’t completely to blame but the Sabres obviously needed to change something to get the ship righted. Perhaps the recall of Luukkonen can be the spark they need to get things turned around. The young netminder was once considered the sure-fire goaltender of the future for the Sabres, and while that title may have been passed on to 20-year-old Northeastern superstar Devon Levi, there should still be plenty of excitement for Luukkonen.
Now 23, he actually has a .913 save percentage in 13 NHL appearances, despite his AHL numbers not looking quite as strong. The 6’5″ netminder has huge potential to be a starter at the highest level if he can put things together, and will get a chance now to really show what he can do. With a back-to-back situation coming up next week – the team plays the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday and the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday – both netminders will be needed.
Buffalo Sabres Recall Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
After allowing 33 goals in their last seven games, losing all of them, the Buffalo Sabres look like they will also be without their starting goaltender for a little while. After Eric Comrie was injured against the Ottawa Senators, the team recalled Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the minor leagues.
While there has been no update yet on Comrie’s status, the recall of Luukkonen suggests that he’ll be out for a little while. The Sabres don’t play again until Saturday, meaning a decision wouldn’t have been necessary yet if it was a day-to-day issue. The Sabres are on the road, but rather close to home in Toronto for a match with the Maple Leafs this weekend.
Luukkonen, who has been a top prospect in the Sabres system for several years now, had a chance to play a handful of games in each of the last two seasons. His .913 save percentage during those 13 games is encouraging, even if his minor league performance hasn’t been quite as strong.
If he can come anywhere close to that number for the Sabres this time around, they’ll be overjoyed. The team is getting absolutely caved in of late, and Comrie now has an .887 save percentage on the year. After starting the season extremely strong, the Sabres are now 7-10 overall and have allowed by far the most goals in the Atlantic Division.
While Craig Anderson has done fine in his backup role, it’s hard to expect the 41-year-old goaltender to really carry the load at this point in his career. If Comrie is out for a while, that means Luukkonen will be used and relied on to turn things around in Buffalo.
Buffalo Sabres Recall Riley Sheahan, Anders Bjork
With Jack Quinn sidelined, the Buffalo Sabres needed to make at least one recall. They’ve made two, bringing up Riley Sheahan and Anders Bjork from the minor leagues. That doesn’t bode well for Kyle Okposo who was also listed as day-to-day with general soreness and missed the last game.
Sheahan, 30, has been playing regularly in the minor leagues for the first time in nearly a decade this season, registering three points in six games for the Rochester Americans. Other than the four games he spent in the AHL last year, he hadn’t played at that level since the 2013-14 season. A veteran of more than 600 NHL games, Sheahan is a nice depth piece to be able to insert into the fourth line and feel confident in.
Bjork, on the other hand, has just 211 NHL games under his belt but had much higher expectations when he arrived in Buffalo. Part of the return for Taylor Hall, he. has just 14 points in 73 games since being acquired by the Sabres. This year he’s seen game action in the AHL, where he has six points in 11 games. The 26-year-old made a solid impression in 2017-18 after an outstanding college career but has struggled to establish himself ever since.
The Sabres take on the Vancouver Canucks this evening, looking to finally end their five-game losing streak and start climbing back up the Atlantic Division standings.