- A report today by NHL.com’s Mike Morreale says that the Buffalo Sabres still have not interviewed defender Owen Power, the expected first-overall selection in this year’s draft. Power is quoted in the piece as saying that he’s already spoken with 10 to 15 teams, additionally, he doesn’t know when a potential interview with the Sabres could happen. Power, a gigantic 6′ 5″ left-shot defender, has seen himself rise to the top of rankings due to his impressive two-way play and skating. It’s hard to remember the last time the consensus top prospect wasn’t taken with the first-overall pick, but with the minuscule talent gap between the top few prospects, it’s possible that Buffalo could indeed select someone else. It could be that they just don’t see left defense as a weakness, considering the presence of Rasmus Dahlin. It could also be that they just view someone else as the best player available. But with less than a month until draft day, all eyes will be on Buffalo’s scouts and an extremely important draft pick.
Sabres Rumors
Buffalo Sabres Hire Don Granato As Head Coach
It seems the Buffalo Sabres had their next head coach right in front of them all along. After an exhaustive search, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has announced that Don Granato will lose his interim tag and become the next full-time head coach of the Sabres, signing a three-year contract.
Granato, 53, has actually been with the Sabres since the beginning of 2019-20, coming over from the Chicago Blackhawks after Joel Quenneville made his exit. It wasn’t until partway through this season that he got his first opportunity to serve as head coach in the NHL though, taking over when Ralph Krueger was fired in March. The Sabres were on a 12-game losing streak at the time, and though they certainly didn’t turn things around completely, there was far more competitiveness out of the group under Granato down the stretch.
In 28 games behind the Buffalo bench, Granato posted a 9-16-3 record, still not good enough to come anywhere close to the playoffs. But it’s the way the players seemed much more engaged that is encouraging, at least for a franchise that will grab onto any grain of hope at this point.
This isn’t Granato’s first time as a head coach overall. He led the USNTDP for several years and was a head coach of both the Worcester IceCats and Chicago Wolves in the AHL. He has led several junior-aged iterations of Team USA internationally, leading the U18 squad to gold in 2015. He’s also part of quite the hockey family. His brother Tony Granato played 773 games in the NHL and is now the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. His sister Cammi Granato is in the Hockey Hall of Fame after an incredible playing career that included Olympic gold, and her husband, Ray Ferraro, scored over 400 goals in a 1,258-game NHL career.
There is certainly a lot of encouraging signs with the hire of Granato, but that doesn’t mean it comes without risk. Once again, the Sabres are going with a rookie head coach to try and bring together a group that has had zero success over the past decade. Once again, it’ll mean his biggest task will be developing the top-end prospects that litter the organization, turning them into real difference-makers at the NHL level. There is certainly no guarantee he can accomplish that, even if the last few months of the season were better than under his predecessor.
Darren Dreger of TSN was first to break the news that Granato would get a multi-year deal.
Rangers, Sabres Have Preliminary Talks On Jack Eichel
When reports surfaced about Jack Eichel’s potential availability this summer, the first team that came to many minds was the New York Rangers. The Rangers have enough young assets to land the Buffalo Sabres center and are now focused on making the playoffs after a short rebuild. Today, Larry Brooks of the New York Post writes that the Rangers have had preliminary talks with the Sabres about Eichel and that the asking price is currently “four pieces that would be equivalent of first-rounders.” The Sabres have also, according to Brooks, not yet granted any medical record access to interested teams.
Obviously, an asking price isn’t necessarily indicative of what will eventually land a player in trade talks, but that report from Brooks shows just how high the Sabres are setting their sights in this negotiation. The team is dealing with a distressed asset, as Eichel has expressed frustration with the team over a difference in medical opinions, but will still not simply give him away. The biggest question mark surrounding the $10MM center is the health of his neck, which still may require surgery this offseason. Eventually, teams will have to get their hands on his medical records and determine how much risk is involved in an acquisition beyond just his recent on-ice struggles.
Latest On Jack Eichel’s Trade Market
While Jack Eichel’s potential trade availability has dominated the headlines in recent weeks, there has actually been very little concrete information to come out about his market. The assumption is that every team will at least kick the tires on the superstar forward, but also that the Buffalo Sabres will have a hefty asking price that some may not want to pay and many others simply won’t be able to. The remaining group of possible landing spots could be small. To this point though, there has been little word on which teams fall into which categories – until now.
One team very much in the mix for Eichel is the Minnesota Wild. The Athletic’s Michael Russo has confirmed that Wild GM Bill Guerin has opened trade talks with the Sabres’ Kevyn Adams. Minnesota had a strong, resurgent season but still lacks star power at the center position, so it is no surprise that Guerin is interested. The Wild already have their plate full with extensions for Kirill Kaprizov, Kevin Fiala, and Joel Eriksson Ek, but it stands to reason that a potential Eichel trade would likely see one of the latter two heading to Buffalo. Russo points out that the salary cap would necessitate another roster player likely moving as well, while a top prospect such as Marco Rossi or Matthew Boldy would certainly be part of the package too. It’s a heavy price to pay – and that might not even be the full ask – but Buffalo knows that someone will pay up for Eichel. Russo warns that the Wild are an up-and-coming team and need to be completely sure of Eichel’s health status before making the expensive, long-term commitment and franchise-altering decision to acquire him.
Not everyone is willing to take that risk and the Columbus Blue Jackets are one of them. The Athletic’s Aaron Portzline writes that Columbus GM Jarmo Kekalainen has been busy working the phones and analyzing the trade market and Eichel has of course earned “due diligence.” However, he indicated that this was the extent of his trade talks with Adams. Portzline reports that a key piece of the Sabres’ asking price is a center with first-line potential and the Blue Jackets do not have anyone who fits that description. To make up for that deficit, Columbus’ would likely have to pay an exorbitant price to acquire Eichel. The likely package would include at least the No. 5 overall pick, if not multiple first-rounders, multiple young roster players, probably including goaltender Elvis Merzlikins, and a top prospect or two. That cost doesn’t make much sense for a team that, at best, is re-tooling but could be considered rebuilding. Portzline suggests that another Sabre, Sam Reinhart, has also been linked to the Blue Jackets and would be a better fit in many ways.
Other suitors are expected to include the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings, and New York Rangers, but so far those organization have not let any details of their pursuit slip out. There is of course also the chance that Buffalo simply retains Eichel, as a fair return could be very difficult to come by. Until then though, this is a storyline that will continue to dominate the off-season.
Coaching Notes: Vincent, Hakstol, Boudreau, Tocchet
New Columbus Blue Jackets head coach Brad Larsen is adding to his staff. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that the Blue Jackets are set to hire Manitoba Moose head coach Pascal Vincent as an assistant to Larsen. Vincent had previously left Paul Maurice’s Winnipeg Jets staff in favor of being the head coach for their AHL affiliate, but seemingly is back to being open to an NHL assistant role. Vincent has spent the past decade with the Jets organization and the previous dozen years as a head coach and GM in the QMJHL. With an impressive resume, Vincent may see this Columbus opportunity as a way to get his name out there beyond the confines of Winnipeg in hopes of attracting NHL head coach attention of his own down the road. Vincent will re-unite with Jack Roslovic in Columbus; he previously coached him as a prospect with the Moose but he has now become the No. 1 center for the Blue Jackets. That relationship should be mutually beneficial for the pair.
- The big coaching news of the day was of course the hiring of Dave Hakstol as the first head coach of the expansion Seattle Kraken. And while Hakstol’s role will be in the locker room and not the front office, GM Ron Francis will certainly take his opinions into consideration. After all, it was the Florida Panthers, the former team of Vegas’ inaugural head coach, Gerard Gallant, that were swindled the worst by the Golden Knights in the last Expansion Draft. Florida traded Reilly Smith and a fourth-round pick so that Vegas would select Jonathan Marchessault over the likes of Alexander Petrovic and Mark Pysyk. While no teams should be fooled so badly this time around, Hakstol’s knowledge of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadephia Flyers – not to mention the numerous University of North Dakota alumni around the league – could come into play. The Flyers in particular are expected to have many well-known names exposed in the draft, some of whom played their best seasons under Hakstol, and the coach may know exactly how to target the team.
- The Maple Leafs now have a vacancy on their coaching staff in the wake of Hakstol’s departure, but the club’s fans think they have already figured it out. Yahoo’s Thomas Williams writes that there has already been an outpouring of support for veteran coach Bruce Boudreau to be hired as the team’s newest assistant. The Toronto native and former Maple Leafs player spoke out this off-season as a free agent that he would like to coach his hometown team and fans seem to agree with the match. Boudreau has had a long and successful coaching career and some feel that head coach Sheldon Keefe could use the veteran support on the bench. With that said, Boudreau has never served as an assistant in the NHL and interviewed for the Buffalo Sabres’ head coach vacancy late last month. Despite any personal feelings and fan support, Boudreau will take the top job for the struggling Sabres over a No. 2 role for Toronto.
- Of course, Boudreau is not the only candidate for the Sabres’ job, as Rick Tocchet is also among the names who interviewed for the position. Tocchet interviewed multiple times with the Columbus Blue Jackets, New York Rangers, and Seattle Kraken, only to lose out on all three jobs. He has reportedly only interviewed once with Buffalo, who may not have been his top choice at first, but they are the only landing spot left, as the other remaining NHL head coach position is the post he vacated with the Arizona Coyotes. Tocchet is clearly a well-regarded and sought-after coach, so now that they are his last hope at a top job this season, perhaps the Sabres and Tocchet will get serious about a potential match.
Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres
Free agency is now just a little more than a month away and many teams are already looking ahead to when it opens up. There will be several prominent players set to hit the open market in late July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. Buffalo’s biggest question mark this summer is obviously the fate of the captain, but there are several other pending free agents that also need to be dealt with.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Sam Reinhart – The trade speculation surrounding Jack Eichel has somewhat hidden any Reinhart news, but make no mistake he is also being discussed around the league. Despite being just 25, the RFA forward will be an unrestricted free agent after next season because he has already played six full seasons in the NHL. While he has never quite lived up to the second-overall billing of true franchise-changing star, there’s something to be said for Reinhart’s consistent production on a lackluster team. In five of his six seasons, he has recorded at least 22 goals, even tying his career-high of 25 this year in just 54 games. Reinhart has blown the rest of the Sabres out of the water year after year in possession statistics, and there is a real chance that he could explode into a game-changing presence if surrounded by more talent. Buffalo knows this (or should, at least) and will be holding out for a high price, but there is a ticking clock on the pending RFA. Reinhart can simply go to arbitration with the Sabres this season, receive a raise on the $5.2MM he earned in 2020-21 and then walk if he decides to pursue other opportunities. That would be a real miss on the part of the Buffalo front office, meaning a multi-year extension or a trade seem like the only reasonable options this summer.
F Casey Mittelstadt – If only Mittelstadt had developed the way many expected, Buffalo may not be in the situation they are now. The eighth overall pick from 2017 has still not really established himself as a full-time NHL player, even if this season was a legitimate step forward. In 155 career games he has recorded 61 points, a tough total to swallow when you look at that 2017 draft board and see the likes of Martin Necas and Nick Suzuki selected just a few picks later. Still, there are still plenty of reasons to stay the course with the 22-year-old center and given the fact that he is not yet arbitration-eligible, the Sabres should still get him signed at a reasonable price. There is always the threat of an offer sheet for a young player like Mittelstadt, but in today’s flat cap world it seems extremely unlikely.
D Rasmus Dahlin – In fact, if there was a Sabres RFA to target with an offer sheet, perhaps it would be Dahlin. The first-overall pick from 2018’s entry-level deal is up and he now approaches a negotiation with 107 points in 197 games. Sure, there are real question marks around parts of Dahlin’s game, but the 21-year-old defenseman has still been extremely productive in his first few years. In fact, since he entered the league, Dahlin ranks 20th among all NHL defensemen in points, ahead of players like Zach Werenski, Seth Jones, and Aaron Ekblad. No, he did not have a good 2020-21 season, but the Sabres would be absolutely foolish to be doing anything but locking in Dahlin long-term as soon as possible. He should be part of the solution, not the problem in Buffalo. The question is how long will the player want to go with a contract, coming off such a down year? It does seem to make sense for Dahlin’s camp to push for a bridge contract and then really cash in after his offensive numbers rebound. That delicate dance is what Sabres GM Kevyn Adams will have to navigate as he tries to get Buffalo pointed in the right direction.
Other RFAs: F Rasmus Asplund, F Dawson DiPietro, D William Borgen, D Henri Jokiharju, D Casey Fitzgerald, G Stefanos Lekkas
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
D Jake McCabe – Normally, McCabe would feature prominently in any offseason plans, given his place as a leader on the Sabres. The 27-year-old defenseman has played his entire NHL career in Buffalo to this point, totalling 353 games over parts of eight seasons. Unfortunately, McCabe suffered a major knee injury earlier this year, with damage to his ACL, MCL and meniscus. He was given a recovery timeline between six and eight months in February, meaning there’s a chance he’s ready for the start of next season, but who knows what kind of player is coming back. The Sabres should have the best insight into his recovery, so perhaps a contract extension in Buffalo makes sense. There is a feeling of dramatic change surrounding the team right now though, so cutting ties with a player who has been there through all the losing could make sense.
G Linus Ullmark – This is the real question among unrestricted free agents for the Sabres, as without Ullmark they don’t really have an NHL goaltender for the 2021-22 season. Partner Carter Hutton is also headed for the open market but is now 35 and coming off two brutal seasons. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen is the obvious choice as “goaltender of the future” but has just four NHL appearances under his belt. The Sabres have been clear in the fact that they would like to keep Ullmark around, even deciding not to trade him at the deadline in order to continue negotiations. But there’s no deal in place yet, and free agency is creeping closer and closer. In 117 appearances with the Sabres, the 27-year-old Ullmark has posted a .912 save percentage. If he can play that well behind a poor team, there’s good reason to believe that he can be a legitimate playoff-level starter in the NHL. That of course will be known by his representatives too, meaning the Sabres will have to cough up more than the $2.6MM Ullmark made this season in order to keep him in Buffalo.
Other UFAs: F Tobias Rieder, F Riley Sheahan, F Drake Caggiula, F Jean-Sebastien Dea, F Steven Fogarty, F C.J. Smith, D Matt Irwin, D Brandon Davidson, G Carter Hutton, G Michael Houser
Projected Cap Space
The Sabres are one of the worst teams in the league and they also have a pair of terrible contracts on the books. Jeff Skinner and Kyle Okposo combine for a $15MM cap hit this year and next (with Skinner’s $9MM hit lasting long after Okposo’s expires), meaning the $34MM in space listed is a bit deceiving. That’s more than $47MM in salary committed to just ten players for next season and not many of them are all that good. With new deals for so many restricted free agents to come, the cap is going to become a challenge for Buffalo even before dipping into the unrestricted free agent waters. Of course, if trades for Eichel and Rasmus Ristolainen eventually happen, the financial situation looks a lot more reasonable.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
Rick Tocchet Receives Second Interview With Three Teams
June 24: The Seattle Kraken will reveal their first head coach today and Ian Furness of KJR 950 in Seattle tweets that it will not be Tocchet. With the Blue Jackets and Rangers having gone in different directions, the openings are quickly closing for the free agent head coach.
June 2: The Arizona Coyotes may not have wanted to move forward with Rick Tocchet behind the bench, but they are clearly in the minority. The free agent coach continues to draw considerable interest on the open market. Tocchet has already interviewed for the vacancies of the Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets, and New York Rangers, as well as for the inaugural head coach position for the expansion Seattle Kraken.
At least three of those teams are serious about Tocchet as a candidate, as Coyotes beat writer Craig Morgan reports that Tocchet had a second interview with the Rangers on Tuesday and will have second interviews with the Kraken and Blue Jackets before the end of the week. He does not mention the Sabres, who are reportedly casting a wide net for their next head coach and may not be at their second interview stage just yet. While the Kraken are still an unknown until the Expansion Draft, both the Rangers and Blue Jackets have the talent on their rosters that could allow Tocchet to find immediate success if hired.
Tocchet, 57, actually has a losing record in his NHL head coaching career and if not for the expanded 2020 postseason field would have never led a team to the playoffs. With that said, he took a bottom-dwelling Coyotes team from last in the Pacific Division in 2017-18 to a team that contended for a playoff spot late into the season in each of the past three years, never finishing lower than fifth in the division. It’s nothing spectacular, but it is far from failure. Tocchet is also known for his ability to work with star players and was beloved as an assistant coach in previous stops. A standout two-way forward during his playing days and the NHL’s all-time leader in Gordie Howe hat tricks, Tocchet has a well-rounded understanding of the game and a well-regarded coaching approach. So while his track record may not be amazing on paper, the veteran coach has clearly made enough of a name for himself that several teams are highly interested in hiring him as their next head coach.
Snapshots: Robert, McCauley, Trotz
The Buffalo Sabres and their fan base are among those in mourning today, as the team revealed that beloved alumnus Rene Robert has passed away at 72. Robert had been hospitalized in Florida this weekend with a heart attack and died early on Tuesday. A member of the famed “French Connection” line with Gilbert Perreault and Rick Martin, Robert played seven plus seasons with the Sabres during the prime of his career. In 524 games with the team, he recorded 552 points, including a 100-point All-Star season in 1974-75. Robert also had two stints with the Toronto Maple Leafs and spent time with the Colorado Rockies and Pittsburgh Penguins as well. However, his name will always be synonymous with the Sabres and Robert remained an active part of the organization long after his retirement. The team has released a statement calling Robert a “tremendous player, teammate, and person [who] truly loved this organization”. Owner Terry Pegula also called the new of the loss of his friend “devastating”.
- In the midst of a postseason in which officiating has been a hot-button issue, the NHL is without one of its top referees for the time being and no one knows exactly why. Sportsnet reports that Wes McCauley, considered by one of, if not the best referee in the league is currently at home and will not work again during the semifinals. There is no word yet on if he will be available for the Stanley Cup Final. McCauley is not believed to be sick or injured, but is sidelined nonetheless. The league has not commented on the situation other than stating that they hope he will be available soon. In these playoffs, inconsistent officiating within series and even within games as well as a reluctance in the same or similar manner as the regular season has brought referees and the NHL under fire. McCauley would be a valuable asset for the championship round.
- The officials were not wrong when they kicked the New York Islanders’ Mathew Barzal out of Monday night’s Game Five. A high-stick to the face of Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta earned him a five-minute major and game misconduct and the NHL Department of Safety agreed with the egregiousness of the penalty, additionally docking Barzal with a maximum fine. Who else agreed that Barzal’s play was a poor display? His own coach, in fact. Barry Trotz told ESPN’s Greg Whyshynski that he was “disappointed” in his star center and his decision-making. Even in the case of bad penalties, coaches usually refrain from such direct criticism, especially deep in the playoffs. It remains to be seen if Trotz will show his displeasure in his usage of Barzal or if Barzal’s play might slip as a result of his coach’s comments.
Blackhawks Have Shown Interest In Jack Eichel
There are quite a few teams already that are interested in Jack Eichel and it appears that Chicago can be added to the mix. Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports that the Blackhawks have now communicated their interest in the 24-year-old to Buffalo.
The fit is definitely an interesting one. While the hope is that Jonathan Toews will be able to return for next season, the fact he missed all of this year means they can’t definitively count on him for 2021-22. And while players like Pius Suter and Philipp Kurashev stepped up at times, neither of them are ideal fits in a top-line role, nor is Kirby Dach who missed most of the year after suffering a wrist injury in a pre-tournament game for the World Juniors. Dylan Strome has shown flashes of upside but wound up a healthy scratch down the stretch so he can’t be relied on in a top role either.
If Toews is able to return, however, fitting three contracts of $10MM or more (Eichel is at $10MM through 2025-26, Toews and Patrick Kane at $10.5MM through 2022-23) may be challenging. Per CapFriendly, they only have $6.2MM in cap room for next year though that can be extended with placing Brent Seabrook and Andrew Shaw ($10.775MM combined) on LTIR. Even so, they do have a couple of notable restricted free agents to re-sign in Suter and defenseman Nikita Zadorov and both players have arbitration eligibility; their new deals will cut into that cap space.
As for Buffalo, there are a couple of intriguing potential trade chips from Chicago. They’ve been believed to be seeking a high draft pick and the Blackhawks have the 11th-overall pick in next month’s draft. That would likely need to be included in there. It’s also reasonable to think that the Sabres will want a young center in return and Dach, the third-overall selection in 2019, fits the bill. Put those two pieces together and that’s a pretty strong package to work with; some cap ballast to balance the books would likely be needed as well.
In a recent appearance on WGR 550 (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted that Buffalo’s preference would be to move the disgruntled center (who is still wanting a new surgery on his neck that team doctors won’t sign off on) to the Western Conference as the league returns to its more traditional alignment for next season. That would seemingly push Chicago ahead of some suitors from the East and if Dach and the 11th pick are made available, the Blackhawks should definitely be in the mix. While there is some risk in acquiring Eichel with his neck situation and the uncertainty surrounding Toews, the potential for reward is definitely high as well if both are good to go for 2021-22.
In the meantime, this report comes off the heels of one earlier in the week that had Chicago looking into blueliners Dougie Hamilton and Seth Jones. It certainly appears as if GM Stan Bowman is going big-game hunting this summer.
More On Jack Eichel Trade Talks
Dreger reiterates that the Sabres aren’t just dumping Eichel and will still demand a high price in return. He’s not the first NHL insider to imply that a deal is inevitable in Buffalo, with Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet recently saying that the Sabres want to move on and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic writing that talks were getting “more intense and serious.” It looks like a resolution to the saga is coming and coming fast.