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Sabres’ Jake McCabe To Test The Market

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Injury could not have come at a worse time for Jake McCabe. The Buffalo Sabres defenseman had been nothing but dependable in his first five full NHL seasons, establishing himself as a solid two-way defenseman capable of shut-down defense with his checking and shot-blocking as well as transitioning the puck up the ice and contributing modest offense. Entering a contract year at just 27 years old, McCabe looked primed to play a critical role again for the Sabres and then was likely to be a highly sought-after trade deadline target. That all was supposed to conclude with a considerable raise and long-term contract in free agency, from Buffalo or elsewhere.

Instead, McCabe suffered a torn ACL, MCL, and meniscus in his right knee in February, just 13 games into the season. In that small sample size, McCabe posted a Corsi For rating that held as the best possession mark on the Sabres this season. He was also on pace for a career high in hits per game. Everything was going according to plan and just like that his season was over. Not only that, but the timeline for recovery was considered six-to-eight months and history has shown that ACL injuries can take even longer to heal for hockey players. McCabe’s season was over and now the following season was in doubt. At best, McCabe will not be healthy until a month after the free agent market opens. At worst, he may not be ready to play through the first month of the season or longer.

This has completely changed the outlook of McCabe’s impending free agency. The hopes of a long-term deal are likely shattered and it will be far harder to make a case for a pay raise. In fact, many had speculated that perhaps McCabe would simply re-sign in Buffalo, the team that knows the most about his current recovery and whose lineup it would be the easiest to transition into post-injury. However, it doesn’t seem like that will be the case. Buffalo Hockey Beat’s Bill Hoppe reports that McCabe will in fact test the market when free agency opens on July 28. Hoppe writes that the Sabres have been in contact with McCabe, but haven’t prioritized an extension with the career Sabre, despite his leadership role in the locker room as well as the recent losses of Rasmus Ristolainen and William Borgen from the back end. GM Kevyn Adams stated that McCabe will enter the market on his own accord though. He noted that the Sabres would welcome McCabe back if he wants to return at a fair price, but that the defenseman is “going to see what’s out there”.

McCabe’s market will certainly be an interesting one. While there are many good defensemen available, there are few great options. McCabe may have to settle for a one-year “show me” deal given his injury, but if a team believes in his ability and instead sees the injury as a way to sign the blue liner at a bargain price, perhaps he could still wind up with a multi-year deal. The Boston Bruins are one club that have been previously linked to McCabe, but there will be no shortage of teams that kick the tires on the defenseman now that it is confirmed that he is interested in testing the waters.

 

Jeff Skinner Waives No-Movement Clause For Expansion Draft

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The Buffalo Sabres will get an extra protection slot at this month’s expansion draft after Jeff Skinner agreed to waive his no-movement clause according to John Vogl of The Athletic. Sabres GM Kevyn Adams requested it on Tuesday morning and Skinner agreed, allowing the team to protect an extra forward.

Skinner, 29, is an unlikely target for the Seattle Kraken, given his high price and poor production the last two seasons. Since signing an eight-year, $72MM contract in 2019, the winger has scored just 21 goals and 37 points in 112 games. He had just 14 points this past season, spending much of it on the fourth line. His no-movement clause would have forced the Sabres to protect him over a player like Rasmus Asplund, who is a more likely target for expansion.

This is a pretty big gesture of good faith from Skinner, who certainly didn’t need to waive a clause that the Sabres knowingly gave him just two years ago. The move does not waive the clause for the purpose of a trade, only to stop the automatic protection in the draft. But still, selfishly, it may have benefitted Skinner to see the Sabres lose a younger player like Asplund or Anders Bjork who could be battling for the same top-six ice time next season.

The Sabres already had plenty of options to fill the exposure requirements at forward, but Skinner will now be added to that group. It is interesting to wonder about the connection between the forward and Kraken GM Ron Francis from their time together in Carolina, but it still seems unlikely that the expansion club would want to take on his $9MM cap hit. That deal has proven to be one of the worst in the entire NHL, though there is obviously production still in there if the team finds a way to unlock it.

Sure, Skinner was given this contract after a career year where he scored 40 goals, but it’s not like he hadn’t come close to those numbers before. He reached the 30-goal mark on three other occasions and even scored 37 in the 2016-17 season. A brilliant skater and talented finisher, if the Sabres can find a way to mitigate his weaknesses while promoting his strengths, there is still time to get some value back.

Snapshots: Blue Jackets, Sabres, Buyouts, DeAngelo

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Between new head coach Brad Larsen, promoted from his previous role as assistant, and newly hired assistants Pascal Vincent and Sylvain Lefebvre, the Blue Jackets will have a combined 15 seasons as NHL assistants, 13 seasons as AHL head coaches, 11 seasons as a junior head coaches, six seasons as AHL assistants, and over 1,200 NHL games played worth of experience behind the bench. The one thing they don’t have? Any experience as an NHL head coach. As Aaron Portzline writes for The Athletic, there is zero NHL head coach experience in the entire Columbus organization right now and while GM Jarmo Kekalainen isn’t worried, he also isn’t above addressing that issue. Kekalainen is at least considering adding an advisor to the coaching staff; a veteran NHL head coach to help guide Larsen and company through their first season with a the re-tooling Blue Jackets. Portzline believes that one name who could certainly be in the mix is Jacques Martin, as the 68-year-old with 16 seasons as an NHL head coach is believed to be looking for this type of role. Other candidates will also surely emerge if and when Columbus decides that they are officially looking to fill the position.

  • Did Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams tip his hand in a recent interview with Pierre LeBrun for The Athletic? Discussing his team’s rebuilding plans, Adams stated the following:

(Rasmus) Dahlin, (Dylan) Cozens, (Casey) Mittelstadt, these are very, very young players… And I’ve been energized about this young core of Sabres we have that are hungry and they want to be part of the solution. … These guys are proud to be Buffalo Sabres, they want to fix this and get this right, they want to move forward together. So that’s the young core that we’re working to build around.

Sure, these are all key pieces for the Sabres in their rebuild. However, Adams did not mention the likes of Jack Eichel, Sam Reinhart, or Victor Olofsson, who are only marginally older than that group. His use of the words “proud to be Buffalo Sabres” and “want to be part of the solution” also feels purposeful, as if there are others on the team who are not and possibly that is why they are no longer part of the rebuild plans. While rumors have been swirling around Eichel and to some extent Reinhart as well, perhaps this is a real indication that Buffalo will be making major changes this summer.

  • The NHL’s buyout window opens 24 hours after the Stanley Cup is awarded, which could be as early as later tonight. In anticipation, Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli lists ten names (and some honorable mentions) who could be buyout candidates. While much of this is educated speculation, Seravalli does have a scoop on his No. 1 name on the list, New York Rangers defenseman Anthony DeAngelo. Seravalli reports that the Rangers officially finalized a plan to buyout DeAngelo last week, a move that has been a long time coming since he was placed on leave in January for off-ice conduct. What remains to be seen is when exactly the buyout will be executed. The Rangers don’t need DeAngelo for the upcoming Expansion Draft, with Anthony Bitetto meeting exposure criteria and not expected to be protected, however New York may want to leave him in case they are able to tempt the Seattle. Even if the Kraken don’t bite, DeAngelo’s skill is enough to make him an intriguing free agent this summer following his buyout, even after a year off and some character concerns.

Trade Rumors: Eichel, Blackhawks, Kings

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Jack Eichel remains the biggest name on the trade market and will remain as such until he is dealt. Or not dealt? The Athletic’s John Vogl spoke to both sides and found that GM Kevyn Adams and Eichel’s agent had a long, productive meeting on Wednesday. Eichel’s camp believes that the situation is “heading toward a resolution.” Read into that what you will, but the language at least hints at a possible reconciliation between the two sides. This report comes on the heels of TSN’s Darren Dreger reporting that the Sabres’ asking price of “the equivalent of four first-round picks” has depressed the market. If the Sabres are not willing to drop the price of this franchise-altering trade, they could instead try to make amends with their superstar. Then again, Vogl also notes that the Sabres have not changed their opinion on Eichel’s proposed controversial neck surgery, a line in the sand that could still split the two sides. “Resolution” could still mean that the team and the player are working toward finding a trade.

  • One team in on Eichel are the Chicago Blackhawks. Don’t mistake their openness to trading iconic defenseman Duncan Keith as transitioning into a rebuild. Dreger notes that they are big game hunting this summer and have talked to Buffalo about the star center. However, Dreger does not believe that adding Eichel to a roster that already has two top-tier forward contracts in Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews is feasible from a cap perspective, even if Keith is moved. Instead, he believes that Chicago has a far better chance of landing one of their other two rumored targets: defensemen Seth Jones and Dougie Hamilton.
  • The equivalent of four first-round picks is a mighty big ask, but it won’t slow down the Los Angeles Kings if they want to add Eichel. L.A. has long been a rumored landing spot for Eichel and it seems there is mutual interest in a trade. As Vogl notes, the Kings’ ability to part with the pieces needed to land Eichel hasn’t changed with today’s deal for Nashville forward Viktor Arvidsson. L.A. parted with two valuable draft picks, but not a first-round pick nor any of their top-flight first-round prospects like Quinton Byfield, Gabriel Vilardi, Alex Turcotte, Rasmus Kupari, or Tobias Bjornfot. If Eichel remains on the market, the Kings will definitely be in play.

Latest On Jack Eichel’s Trade Market

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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.

Latest On Jack Eichel

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The Buffalo Sabres and Jack Eichel appear to be headed toward a split, even though things have quieted down since the team’s year-end media availability. At that point, Eichel was telling reporters that there was a “disconnect” between his camp and GM Kevyn Adams’ front office regarding his neck injury and it seemed like he already had one foot out the door. Well, that may still be the case, as Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet spoke to WGR 550 in Buffalo today and explained:

That’s the poker game we’re playing right now. Other teams are saying ’you’ve got an unhappy player who doesn’t want to come back’ and the Sabres I really think at the end of the day want to move on. They don’t want him back, they want to move on. The teams are going to play Buffalo’s “desperation” at that. The Sabres have to play a game that says ’okay, you guys can play that game, but somebody is going to get him. If you play it too cool or you play us too hardline, it won’t be you.’

Friedman also noted that some teams are even calling him to see what he knows about Eichel’s injury, given how little information the Sabres have released publicly to this point. The neck injury is a huge sticking point in the trade market, given the uncertainty over whether he will still require surgery and miss part of next season.

Of course, there is also the factor of a long-term contract that carries a cap hit of $10MM. That’s not an easy deal to swallow for any team, even if they can technically fit it at the moment. If Eichel can’t return to the player that scored 36 goals and 78 points in 2019-20, his contract quickly becomes an anchor. A trade will require a team that believes that he can get back to that level, and has the assets the Sabres will want in return. Even if Buffalo wants to move on, Adams will need to maximize the return as much as he can for a player who was seen as a franchise icon to this point.

Latest On Jack Eichel

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May 12: Two days later, GM Adams spoke with the media and confirmed that Eichel’s camp requested a surgery–which Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet identified as cervical disk replacement–but that the Sabres doctors are not comfortable with it because it has never been done on an NHL player. Adams also explained that Eichel has not asked for a trade, though admitted that some players told him in their exit interviews that they would be “open to anything” when asked if they want to be a part of the Sabres’ future.

May 10: After a few explosive media availabilities with Rasmus Ristolainen, Sam Reinhart, and others this morning, Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel poured some gas on the offseason hot stove. The star forward not only left open the idea of a trade, but suggested to reporters including John Vogl of The Athletic that he and the Sabres cannot agree on the best way to treat his neck injury. Eichel suffered a herniated disk and explained that it’s not only up to him on whether to have surgery:

It doesn’t work like that. I wish. …I’m under contract with this team and they definitely hold a lot of cards on what I can and can’t do. 

Eichel, 24, played just 21 games this season, scoring two goals and 18 points. It was by far the most disappointing season he has had from a production standpoint, but the outcome for the Sabres—finishing last—has become far too familiar. Despite Eichel’s strong offense throughout the early part of his career, he is now six seasons in without suiting up for a single playoff game.

Though there will be teams interested in acquiring Eichel, a trade involving a player like him is not easy. He has five more years under contract and carries a $10MM cap hit, tied for the 11th-highest number in the NHL. If he is also going to get surgery on his neck at some point, that makes a trade all the riskier for any acquiring team.

The New York Rangers and Los Angeles Kings have been listed as the most likely candidates in the past, given how many young assets they have gathered over the last few years. Serious interest has never been confirmed though and there are likely to be other teams that get involved if Eichel is put on the market.

An Eichel trade has been the story for the last several offseasons in Buffalo, but after the disastrous 2021-22 campaign, seems more likely than ever to actually come to fruition. Now it’s up to GM Kevyn Adams to somehow navigate the minefield of an unhappy franchise icon, hire a full-time coach, and somehow put the Sabres back on the right track.

Rasmus Ristolainen Open To Trade

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It’s been another trying year for the Buffalo Sabres, losing their coach and finishing dead last in the NHL. You can forgive a veteran player not wanting to go through that again, which makes Rasmus Ristolainen’s comments to reporters including John Vogl of The Athletic and Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News today not much of a surprise:

I’m open for all the ideas. Right now, it’s hard. Obviously the season just ended so, yeah, I’m frustrated and I’m pissed and it sucks. So I told him I’m open for all the scenarios: staying or if he trades me, I’m fine with that too.

For me, I can’t go for another rebuild or wait multiple years. For me. I mean, we have to get to playoffs next year. For me, it’s either here or then somewhere else.

Ristolainen has now been in Buffalo for eight seasons but has yet to step foot on the ice of an NHL playoff game. He has seen six different coaches behind the bench since his debut in 2013, but none of them were able to get the team to even a .500 record. The 26-year-old defenseman has been a big part of those losses, averaging nearly 24 minutes a night throughout his Buffalo career, only to post an eye-popping -163 rating in 542 games. While +/- has its obvious flaws, Ristolainen has also posted poor possession numbers throughout his career and is likely playing a bigger role than he is truly capable of.

That is part of the problem in Buffalo, as the team hasn’t been able to truly build out the depth of the program even while selecting at the top of the draft. The chatter surrounding captain Jack Eichel continues to increase, while first-overall pick Rasmus Dahlin also experienced regression this season, posting just 23 points in 56 games.

As painful as it will be, the Sabres may need to try a rebuild again, moving out veterans like Ristolainen who don’t have much term left. The right-handed defenseman is signed through next season at a $5.4MM cap hit but is scheduled for free agency in the summer of 2022. Sam Reinhart, who is also one season away from UFA status, doesn’t even have a contract for next year yet. He told reporters that he doesn’t want to go through a rebuild either and hasn’t thought about his next contract yet. Reinhart is an arbitration-eligible restricted free agent this offseason.

GM Kevyn Adams has a busy summer in front of him, deciding which direction to take the Sabres for 2021-22.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Buffalo Sabres Hire Jason Karmanos

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1:30pm: The Sabres have made it official, hiring Karmanos as associate general manager. The release indicates that Karmanos will serve as general manager of the Rochester Americans and also oversee the Sabres’ scouting, player development and analytics departments.

11:30am: The Buffalo Sabres are “finalizing the details” in the hiring of Jason Karmanos as associate general manager, according to Darren Dreger of TSN. John Buccigross of ESPN tweeted earlier today that he also expects Karmanos to join the Buffalo front office.

Son of former Carolina Hurricanes owner Peter Karmanos, Jason Karmanos has been involved in NHL front offices for more than two decades. He was part of the Hurricanes executive team from 1998 until 2013, then followed Jim Rutherford to the Pittsburgh Penguins where he served as vice president of hockey operations and assistant general manager for six years. Karmanos was let go by the Penguins in October, just a few months before Rutherford would eventually resign from the GM position.

In Buffalo, he’ll join GM Kevyn Adams, a familiar face from the Carolina days. Adams was part of the 2006 Hurricanes team that won the Stanley Cup (though amazingly, he registered zero points in 25 postseason games that year) and played several years for the organization before ending his playing career in 2008. Karmanos has been linked to the Buffalo AGM job since he left the Penguins, but it appears that will now soon become official.

Injury Notes: Gallagher, Tanev, Eichel, Andersen

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Montreal Canadiens GM Marc Bergevin spoke with the media today following the passing of the trade deadline and did not parse words when asked about injured star Brendan Gallagher. Bergevin does not believe that Gallagher has a chance to play prior to the conclusion of the regular season, he openly admitted. This would align with the six-week timeframe that Gallagher received after fracturing his thumb this past week. There was some optimism that Gallagher could return before the Canadiens’ season is currently scheduled to end on May 11, but Bergevin either does not see this as realistic or simply will not rush Gallagher back to play regular season games. With the North Division playoff teams all but set, Montreal faces little risk of missing the postseason so the priority with Gallagher is only to get him as healthy as possible for the playoffs.

  • Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall had similar things to say about one of his own players today. Hextall told the media that the move to acquire Jeff Carter was at least partially influenced by the belief that Brandon Tanev will not play again in the regular season. He stated that Tanev’s upper-body injury, which landed him on Long-Term Injured Reserve, is a “tough injury to judge” but that he does not believe the rugged forward can return before the playoffs. Tanev has been a scoring presence and a physical presence for the Penguins this year and the team will have to replace his output in a number of areas. Fortunately, Hextall at least noted that Kasperi Kapanen is expected back in 10-14 days and Evgeni Malkin is likely to play again before the end of the regular season.
  • The Buffalo Sabres’ season is obviously lost and the team will not rush injured superstar Jack Eichel back into action to play meaningless games. GM Kevyn Adams spoke to the media today and stated that Eichel has not officially been shut down for the year, but he is at least out for a while longer. The superb center has missed 18 games since suffering a neck injury in early March and has only made “slight improvement” in that time per Adams. He did not rule out Eichel playing in some of the Sabres’ final games, but by that point it seems even more unlikely that the team will see any value in putting him back in the lineup.
  • One GM did share some optimism with the media today regarding a key injury. Toronto’s Kyle Dubas made it clear that he does not consider starting goaltender Frederik Andersen to be done for the season. Andersen’s has been struggling with a nagging injury and to this point there has been no timetable for his return. As a result, Dubas made a major addition in net by trading for David Rittich to pair with the red-hot Jack Campbell, but he did not rule out Andersen taking his job back at some point. Dubas did not try to guess as to whether Andersen would be able to return before the end of the regular season or if he would instead be active for the playoffs, but he simply believes that Andersen will play for the Maple Leafs again this year. For the impending free agent, pushing through the pain to get back on the ice may be Andersen’s last chance of suiting up for Toronto again.

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