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Kevyn Adams

Eric Comrie Out Multiple Weeks With Lower-Body Injury

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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 Considering Depth Addition

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The Buffalo Sabres lost Mattias Samuelsson and Henri Jokiharju within a few days of each other, suddenly robbing their defensive group of much of its depth. The good news, as general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters including Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News, is that while Samuelsson will miss several weeks, he will not need surgery. Jokiharju meanwhile is week-to-week with a fracture from taking a puck to the face.

With that in mind, Adams explained that the team is considering adding an NHL-level defenseman of some kind, but downplayed the significance of any such move. It won’t be a big change (if one comes at all) but the Sabres are in an interesting situation when it comes to additions like this.

With so much cap space available – the team is still ~$20MM under the ceiling – they could afford to add a bad contract from another team looking for space, with a sweetener to go with it. While it might look odd to add a big ticket for just a few weeks of depth play until Samuelsson and Jokiharju come back, weaponizing the cap space the team has right now can be an effective way to make sure their window is open even longer down the road.

Remember, that cap space isn’t going to be there forever in Buffalo. The team has big extensions kicking in for Tage Thompson and Samuelsson next season and has Dylan Cozens to sign next summer. The following year, Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, and Peyton Krebs are all up for new deals, meaning that extra breathing room is going to disappear quickly.

It’s an enviable position to be in, not needing to make a big move but having the capacity to help out another team. While they obviously want their young studs back in the lineup, Adams has all the leverage here in any negotiations as he calls around the league.

Sabres Notes: Young Players, Okposo, Injuries

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On what is expected to be a busy Monday around the NHL with the deadline to submit rosters approaching at 5:00 pm ET today, Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams met with the media this morning to discuss, primarily, his new leadership group that features the club’s 20th captain, Kyle Okposo. Adams praised Okposo’s leadership and his relationship with teammates and echoed much of the same sentiment towards alternate captain Zemgus Girgensons. The GM also lauded defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, now a full-time alternate captain, for his development not only on the ice, but as a person in the locker room and his drive to get better.

Beyond the new leadership group, Adams touched on several other news and notes, including the status of several of the team’s young players like John-Jason Peterka, Jack Quinn, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. As to Peterka and Quinn, Adams seemed to indicate that both would be on the team’s opening night roster, saying the body of work the pair had put in with the AHL’s Rochester Americans last year shows that they are “ready to take the next step.” Adams continued, referring to the team’s entire young core, including names like Peyton Krebs and Mattias Samuelsson as well, that they will ultimately need to get more and more reps in to continue to develop at this level. On Luukkonen, Adams was impressed with his offseason and training camp efforts, but appeared to confirm the expected, that the goaltender would begin the season in Rochester with veterans Eric Comrie and Craig Anderson on the NHL roster. Seeing Luukkonen spend another year in the minors may not necessarily be exciting news for Sabres fans, however giving him regular starts should make a strong contribution to his overall development.

  • Also from Adams’ availability, when discussing his new leadership group, he touched on the contractual future of captain Kyle Okposo, who is in the last year of a seven-year, $42MM deal, saying the team had yet to discuss an extension with their veteran. That news, combined with some of the objective disappointment on both sides over the life of the contract, might seem to point to a parting of ways at the end of this year, however given the fact that the team named him their captain with just one year left on his contract, with other cornerstone options available, indicates that there is a chance the winger could be back. Any extension with Okposo surely won’t match his current deal, but if he can repeat on his impressive 21 goal, 45 point 2021-22 season, he should find his way to a relatively strong payday.
  • On the injury front, goaltender Malcolm Subban, who left last night’s Rochester preseason game with an injury, could be out for some time, Adams said. The team is still awaiting a further update on Subban. Forward Riley Sheahan will begin the season on injured-reserve as well, the only player expected to be there on the opening night roster, says Adams.

Buffalo Sabres Name Kyle Okposo Captain

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The Buffalo Sabres made their 2022-23 leadership group official Sunday afternoon, naming longtime Sabres forward Kyle Okposo the 20th captain in Sabres history. Forward Zemgus Girgensons and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will serve as Buffalo’s alternate captains for the upcoming season. The team went without a captain last season after trading the injured Jack Eichel, their previous captain, instead electing to have Okposo and Girgensons serve as full-time alternates, and Dahlin an alternate at times later in the season.

Sabres’ GM Kevyn Adams, had the following to say about Okposo:

“It’s impossible to overstate what Kyle has meant to this group – he is patient, he is a lifelong learner, he is levelheaded, and most of all, he is proud to be a Buffalo Sabre. When times get difficult, Kyle knows when to speak up, and when he does, the team takes it to heart. Kyle and his family have made Buffalo their home and want to see our organization succeed, both on and off ice. I am proud that Kyle will represent our organization with class.”

After many years of on-ice struggles, the Sabres appeared to begin the turn-around last season, beginning to win consistently in the second half. The leadership group of Okposo and Girgensons provides the right influence to a predominantly young, and talented, Sabres roster. On the Sabres organization and the roster he’s about to lead, the newest Buffalo captain had this to say:

“I’m just happy to be a part of it. I’m happy to be somebody that the guys in this organization and the guys that play on the team can look up to and try and continue to move this culture forward. I’m just so proud of where we’re at from a team standpoint. It’s not a guarantee that the results follow a good culture, but it’s a hell of a good start. That’s what I’m definitely most proud of over the last year.”

The captaincy comes in the final year of a seven-year deal Okposo signed during the 2016 offseason, bringing him upstate from the New York Islanders and Long Island to western New York and the Sabres. Things weren’t always as exciting and hopeful as they are now for Buffalo or Okposo. As the team struggled year after year, Okposo dealt with injuries and struggles to produce the way the Sabres, and his $6MM cap hit, had expected. Things did turn around for both in 2021-22 though, the Sabres seeming to turn things around and Okposo rebounding with a strong 21 goal, 24 assist performance over 74 games.

What the future holds for both sides is unclear, but naming Okposo captain while the team has plenty of building blocks around him would appear to show their commitment to the veteran moving forward, evidenced all the more by Adams’ words. To Okposo’s point, culture isn’t the be-all-end-all, but it’s a strong start, and considering what the franchise has been through since its last postseason berth in 2011, building a strong culture will be paramount to their future success.

Buffalo Sabres To Name Captain Prior To Regular Season

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The Buffalo Sabres haven’t officially had a captain since just prior to this season when they stripped the title from the injured Jack Eichel prior to an early-season trade to the Vegas Golden Knights. That year-long absence will come to an end soon, though, as newly-extended general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters today that the team will announce their leadership group for 2022-23, including a team captain, prior to the regular season.

As mentioned by The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski in the linked story above, veteran winger Kyle Okposo is the leading candidate for the role, supported by rumors over the offseason. Okposo had his best offensive year as a Sabre despite largely playing in a fourth-line role, cracking the 20-goal mark for the first time since 2015-16 and had 45 points, his highest total in a Sabres jersey. Forming solid chemistry with Zemgus Girgensons, also expected to be named an alternate captain as the longest-tenured Sabre, Okposo’s taken on a de facto leadership role and is becoming an integral part of the team’s voice.

While Okposo has been an alternate captain in Buffalo for the past five seasons, Alex Tuch also jumps out as an obvious candidate for the job. Acquired in the Eichel trade, the Buffalo native had 38 points in 50 games as a Sabre this past year and cemented himself as a top-six fixture.

Speaking today on the team’s leadership group, head coach Don Granato said the following:

I’ll just point out our three older, I think our three oldest guys, are Girgensons, Okposo and Craig Anderson. And they do a tremendous job. They have that presence. And they are in it, obviously, as competitors, but they really have a deep care for helping some other guys achieve more. They don’t fear that this guy might replace me. Which is very uncommon. Whether that is an unconscious thought, or a subconscious thought. Sometimes it’s hard for the older players to really, really help a guy who might replace them or take some ice time away from them. And those three guys there, they love it.

Buffalo Sabres Give GM Kevyn Adams Multi-Year Extension

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The Buffalo Sabres have signed general manager Kevyn Adams to a multi-year extension, the team announced Wednesday. Terms of the contract have not been reported or released.

Adams is entering his third season as general manager and 14th season with the organization overall as an executive. First joining the Sabres as a development coach in 2009-10 after announcing his retirement in early 2009, Adams made the jump to the NHL bench after just two seasons. Named an assistant coach for the 2011-12 season, he was behind the bench for the first two seasons of the team’s current 11-season playoff drought. At that point, he was named a director of the team for 2013-14, whose responsibilities included overseeing Buffalo’s youth hockey program.

For the 2019-20 season, Adams made the jump to senior vice president of business administration, taking on a role working much closer with owners Kim and Terry Pegula. With Buffalo firing Jason Botterill prior to the 2020-21 season, the Sabres named Adams general manager in what was a surprising move at the time.

It’s a move that has worked out well, though, as Buffalo’s finally seemed to solidify an upward trajectory in their years-long rebuild. With Adams being dealt a tough hand early in being forced to trade superstar center Jack Eichel, he received a package that so far includes Sabres top-six forwards Alex Tuch and Peyton Krebs, as well as 2022 16th overall pick Noah Östlund. The Sabres also still have a 2023 second-round selection courtesy of the Vegas Golden Knights.

Adams has also had to lock down a good portion of Buffalo’s core, and it’s been so far, so good. He signed All-Star defenseman Rasmus Dahlin to a three-year bridge deal in September of 2021 and got Tage Thompson under contract for seven years a few weeks ago, although the jury remains out on that massive contract.

Owner Terry Pegula gave a statement on the hiring:

Kevyn’s leadership and vision over the past two seasons has proven to be invaluable, and I am confident in his ability to continue to move us forward as an organization. He is respected by players, coaches, staff, and peers around the league alike due to the poise with which he carries himself and the respect he reciprocates to every individual he encounters. He has grown in different roles throughout the organization, providing him unique perspectives that help him perform at the highest level as general manager.

Examining The Buffalo Sabres’ Financial Future

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When Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams signed center Tage Thompson to an admittedly massive seven-year contract extension earlier this week, it raised some eyebrows considering the lack of consistency from Thompson in his career. Speaking after the fact a few days ago, Adams told The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski that “we’re also being strategic a little bit, to be honest, about the timeline knowing that there’s other guys potentially next summer where we’re going to be in this situation. We want to make sure we’re being strategic on when and how we put these deals together.”

So, given that Adams is envisioning more breakout campaigns from his young stars in 2022-23, how does the Sabres’ financial picture line up with their rise out of their years-long rebuild and the expected salary cap increases?

There are two players next summer who, depending on their campaigns, could demand significant pay raises over their sub-$1MM deals. Both Dylan Cozens and Rasmus Asplund are restricted free agents in 2023, although Cozens does not have arbitration rights.

Cozens is projected to slot right behind Thompson on the team’s depth chart, battling with Casey Mittelstadt for a spot centering their second line. If he wins that battle and sees increased playing time, Cozens’ offensive production is bound to take a step forward from his 38 points last season.

In any event, Cozens’ ceiling likely isn’t the 35+ goal season Thompson is coming off of, either. His development has been more linear, something that tracks well for the Sabres, at least in terms of certainty in contract negotiations. The team still currently has nearly $40MM in cap space to play with next offseason with the projected salary cap increase to $83.5MM, so any major contract the Sabres hand out now really doesn’t force their hand in the slightest.

It’s later on when things would get tricky, when the team is contending and their breakout stars want to capitalize on what should be a rapidly increasing salary cap at that point. From that point of view, betting on their players is a smart move from Adams at the moment. With the team still so far away from the salary cap, it can’t hurt to take a risk on what could be a team-friendly deal in five seasons. Even if the players don’t quite pan out as projected, those are deals that won’t be taking up nearly as much of their salary cap as they are now when they do become an issue.

Though Adams should be careful not to play with too much fire. Recent reports suggest that the first large salary cap jump could come in the 2024 offseason instead of 2025. That would be a boon to the Sabres, who have four major expiring contracts that offseason: Mittelstadt, Peyton Krebs, Rasmus Dahlin, and Owen Power. If everything goes as expected in terms of their development, that could very well be upwards of $30MM handed out just between those four players. If the Sabres put themselves in a position to give those contracts and still have some breathing room, they could finally construct a roster with the required depth to remain at the top of the Eastern Conference.

Ryan Johnson Leaning Toward College For 2022-23

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The Buffalo Sabres signed Owen Power after his sophomore season with the Michigan Wolverines and put him directly into the lineup. It appears as though they will have to wait another year for another top college defenseman. In his end-of-year availability today, general manager Kevyn Adams told reporters including John Vogl of The Athletic that Ryan Johnson is leaning toward a return to the University of Minnesota for his senior season.

While there was never any chance of the Sabres losing the rights to Power, a senior season for Johnson would certainly complicate his situation. Selected 31st overall in 2019, the 20-year-old defenseman can become an unrestricted free agent in August 2023, just a few months after his college season would come to an end. That at best puts the Sabres in a difficult negotiating position, and could potentially lead to them considering a trade of his rights at some point.

Technically, because he is a first-round pick, the Sabres would receive a compensatory selection in the second round (in the same draft position, meaning 63rd, now that there are 32 teams) if he decided not to sign and became an unrestricted free agent. While just leaning toward a return to college in no way guarantees that, you can see why the player may hesitate at joining the Sabres current depth chart.

With Power, Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju, and Mattias Samuelsson (not to mention three first-round picks this year) looking like a locked-in top-four for years to come, there may not be a ton of playing time for some of the other young defensemen in the organization. Adams said during his availability that they will look around for a veteran this offseason to support the group, again taking some NHL playing time away from a potential prospect like Johnson.

Still, there is time to be used even if he does go back. Johnson will have a chance to compete for a national championship once again and improve on the 19 points he scored this season before making the jump to professional hockey.

Snapshots: Power, Maple Leafs, Dorion

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The Buffalo Sabres are going to be watching the upcoming Beijing Olympics very closely, as Owen Power helps lead Canada in the men’s hockey tournament before ever playing a professional game. The first-overall pick from 2021 went back to the University of Michigan to try for a national championship but could be in a Sabres sweater before the season is over should he sign his entry-level contract after his NCAA season ends.

Buffalo general manager Kevyn Adams has already started those conversations with Power and his adviser Pat Brisson and tells Tom Gulitti of NHL.com that he’s “excited” about the idea of the big defenseman joining the Sabres. There’s little doubt that he could have played in the NHL this season, given his performance at the World Championship last summer–Power started as the seventh defenseman but was on the first pairing by the end of the tournament–but he returned to Michigan along with several other top picks after the program was forced out of last year’s NCAA tournament due to COVID restrictions.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs spent several draft picks last trade deadline to add rentals to the group, acquiring the likes of Nick Foligno, David Rittich, Riley Nash, and Ben Hutton, all players that left in the offseason. This year they might be looking more at players with some term, according to TSN’s Chris Johnston on the latest edition of Insider Trading. Darren Dreger added that the Maple Leafs are even one of the many teams that have kicked the tires on Jakob Chychrun of the Arizona Coyotes, who has three years left on his current contract, though they are not considered among those who have shown strong interest.
  • Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion was at the Minnesota Wild-Montreal Canadiens game yesterday, but it apparently wasn’t really to watch the Canadiens. On Insider Trading, Pierre LeBrun explained that Dorion was there to watch the Wild and speak with GM Bill Guerin. Nothing is imminent, according to LeBrun, but he notes that Dorion is expected to be pop up at other games that do not involve the Senators between now and the deadline as they prepare their strategy.

Sabres Notes: Quinn, Anderson, Third Jersey

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Buffalo Sabres rookie Jack Quinn just broke into the NHL lineup but now won’t see the ice for quite some time. The team has announced that Quinn will miss the next four-to-six weeks with an undisclosed lower-body injury. Quinn just made his NHL debut last week and has two points in his first two games. The 2020 No. 8 overall pick has been one of the best players in the AHL this season with 35 points in 24 games and appears to be on his way to stardom in the NHL. However, that will be on hold for this season as Quinn will be out until March, at which time he will probably return to action in the minors before seeing another chance in the NHL. While this injury won’t chance much about Quinn’s impressive trajectory, it is disappointing for a Buffalo team with nothing to play for again this season and with numerous injuries already who were hoping to see their exciting prospect play a top role the rest of the way.

  • Veteran goaltender Craig Anderson finally looks ready to return to the Buffalo crease. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams revealed on a radio spot with WGR 550 that Anderson will accompany the team on their upcoming three-game western road trip and could see game action if he continues to progress. Anderson, 40, has been out since early November with an upper-body injury. After being convinced to come out of a brief retirement by the Sabres, this isn’t what Anderson was hoping for this season. However, in his six games prior to the injury Anderson was stellar, posting a .921 save percentage and 2.50 GAA. If he can get back to playing at that level, it could all be worth it for the respected veteran to go out on a high note.
  • The Sabres are bringing back a familiar face from the 90’s. No, not Dominik Hasek or Alexander Mogilny, but the literal face of the Buffalo. Chris Creamer of Sportslogos.net reports that the Sabres will bring back their 90’s primary logo, often referred to as the “Goathead” logo, to grace their third jersey in 2022-23 and beyond. Creamer even suggests that the alternate jersey could bring back the red and black scheme that the Sabres dawned for more than a decade in the mid-90’s into the 2000’s before returning to the blue and gold. It remains to be seen if that will actually be the case – the difference in appearance between the primaries and the alternate would be quite jarring – but it seems the Buffalo head logo will return regardless. A polarizing logo in its time, though far from the worst in Sabres’ history, it will be interesting to see if enough time has passed for the Buffalo fan base to embrace the return in the name of nostalgia.

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