Sabres Notes: Savoie, Dahlin and Power, Quinn
In a recent interview, Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams said that Matthew Savoie is considered week-to-week with a left shoulder injury. This timeline puts Savoie at risk of missing the entirety of training camp, although Adams did mention there’s a chance that Savoie will be back before camp closes.
Either way, this is a tough blow for a player that many felt could break into the NHL lineup. Buffalo drafted Savoie ninth overall in the 2022 NHL Draft. As an encore to his strong draft year, Savoie put up 38 goals and 95 points in 62 WHL games last season, adding an additional 29 points in 19 playoff games. His regular season scoring ranked seventh in the league in total points and sixth in points per game. Now 19, there’s reason to question whether Savoie would benefit from another year in the WHL. To this end, the Sabres tried to petition the juniors league to provide Savoie with the same CHL exemption that Shane Wright recently received, although Buffalo isn’t optimistic that Savoie will receive it. With injury holding him out of the bulk of camp, it will be interesting to see where Savoie ends up this season.
Other Sabres Notes:
- Adams also spoke to the intensifying contract negotiations the team is having with star defenders Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power. Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski recently shared that Buffalo may have Dahlin inked to a long-term extension before the regular season begins, although the negotiations with Power seem to be a new development. The former first-overall pick will become a free agent next summer, although Buffalo will have exclusive negotiation rights as Power hasn’t accrued enough games to earn full RFA status. That certainly gives the team a leg up in talks, something that could be helpful, as Lysowski mentions the likelihood of Power signing a bridge deal to make room for Dahlin’s extension.
- Adams also provided an update on Jack Quinn‘s injury status, sharing that the winger is progressing well from his rehab but there is still a lot of work to be done before he’s fully back to action. Quinn ruptured his Achilles tendon and underwent surgery in June of this year. He was listed as being out for four to six months following the surgery, so it seems Quinn is progressing as expected. Quinn scored 14 goals and 37 points in 75 games last season, his rookie year in the NHL.
East Notes: Dahlin, Matheson, Levi
TSN Hockey’s Chris Johnston said on the most recent ‘Off the Post’ podcast that he fully expects Rasmus Dahlin to sign an eight-year contract extension. Johnston said that both sides have made positive strides towards finding the star’s next contract and that they may even have a deal in place before training camp. There’s no doubt that Dahlin’s next contract will likely come with a hefty cap hit – something that Johnston says Buffalo will likely try to offset by signing Owen Power to a cheap and short bridge contract when he’s an RFA next summer.
Dahlin is coming off a tremendous season, where he recorded 15 goals and 73 points in 78 games. His scoring ranked seventh among all defenders in points and points-per-games and marked career-highs in goals, assists, and points. Dahlin has confidently taken control of the Sabres top defender role and is still only 23. A long-term extension will likely take him through his prime and learning what that cap hit will look like is something the Sabres are surely eager to find out.
More from the East:
- The Montreal Canadiens have announced Mike Matheson as their second alternate captain. Matheson will join captain Nick Suzuki and fellow ‘AC’ Brendan Gallagher in the captain’s room. Montreal acquired Matheson as the main piece to the deal that sent Jeff Petry to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He recorded 34 points in 48 games in his first season with the team, although a nagging lower-body injury limited the number of games he was able to play.
- In a recent article building up anticipation for his next season, The Buffalo News’ Lance Lysowski shared that the Buffalo Sabres had tried to sign Devon Levi following the 2021-22 season. Levi recorded a dazzling .952 save percentage and 1.54 goals-against-average that year, his first in Northeastern’s starters crease. But Levi and his team didn’t want to rush anything, opting to stay another year in college before signing with Buffalo this spring. Levi enters the 2023-24 season with little competition for the starter’s net in Buffalo and, as this report lays out, clear excitement from the team.
East Notes: Dahlin, Necas, Keane
There has been recent speculation that the Sabres and defenseman Rasmus Dahlin are nearing an agreement on a contract extension. On the latest 32 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that there is a bit of work still to be done but that all sides involved think that there is a deal to be done with a belief that it could be done by the opening of training camp. The 23-year-old is coming off a breakout year that saw him record 15 goals and 58 assists in 78 games while averaging just shy of 26 minutes a night. He has one year left on his current deal at a $6MM cap hit and coming off the year he just had, it seems likely that Dahlin could approach the $10MM mark (if not a bit more) to lock in a max-term eight-year extension now.
Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:
- Hurricanes forward Martin Necas is entering the final year of his contract this season and thus is eligible to sign a contract extension. However, he recently told NHL.com’s Tom Gulitti that there have been no discussions yet about a possible new deal. The 24-year-old took a significant step forward last season, posting career highs across the board with 28 goals, 43 assists, 71 points, 240 shots, and an ATOI of 18:25 per night. Signed for a $3MM AAV this season, Necas’ next deal could very well double that amount or more if he’s able to have a similar offensive showing in 2023-24.
- Still with Carolina, prospect defenseman Joey Keane has signed a one-year deal with Spartak of the KHL, per a team announcement. The 24-year-old had a good first season in Russia, picking up 24 points in 64 games last year. Keane has a pair of NHL games under his belt with the Hurricanes who retain his RFA rights through the 2026-27 campaign. If he takes a step forward this year, he could play his way back into the mix for a spot in North America.
Evening Notes: Sabres, Bezeau, USHL
Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reported today that the Buffalo Sabres are in contract discussions with a pair of former first overall picks. The Sabres are trying to work out extensions with franchise defenseman Rasmus Dahlin as well as Owen Power who was a workhorse in his rookie season. Both men are eligible for to sign contract extensions on July 1st and have expressed interest in inking long-term with the Sabres. Lysowski acknowledges that the Sabres don’t have any rush to sign either man to an extension as they both still have a year left on their current deals, but if they were to get the new contracts done on July 1st it would give the Sabres some cost certainty as they head into free agency at what is a critical point in their rebuild.
Dahlin will be looking for a long-term contract and could get something in the range of $9MM to $10MM on a long-term deal. The Swedish defender is coming off a season in which he put up 15 goals and 58 assists in 78 games while playing almost 26 minutes a night. For Power, he could sign long term but may elect to sign a bridge deal in the hopes of maximizing his earnings when he is more established and the salary cap has gone up. In his rookie season he played almost 24 minutes a night and had four goals and 31 assists in 79 games.
In other evening notes:
- The Charlotte Checkers have announced that they have re-signed right winger Riley Bezeau to a two-year AHL contract. Bezeau spent this past season in the Queen City putting up five goals and three assists in 51 AHL games and finishing second on the team with 84PIM. The 21-year-old was previously an assistant captain of the Saint John Sea Dogs team that captured the Memorial Cup in 2021-22 in a season that saw him post 11 goals and 16 assists in 56 games.
- The USHL announced today that Glenn Hefferan has been selected as the 11th president and commissioner in league history. Heffernan will take over on July 1st and is familiar with USA hockey having been a board and committee member for several years in various capacities as well as a member of the USA Hockey Executive Committee since June 2021. Back in 2012 Heffernan was awarded the Dr. John J. McMullen Award for service to New Jersey Amateur Hockey, an award he was given by the New Jersey Devils.
Free Agent Focus: New York Rangers
Free agency is less than a month away and teams are looking ahead to when it opens. There will be several impact players set to hit the open market in July while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign as well. We continue our look around the NHL with an overview of the free agent situation for the Rangers.
Key Restricted Free Agents
F Alexis Lafrenière – Just under three years ago the Rangers watched the lottery balls bounce their way as they were fortunate enough to win the sweepstakes for Lafrenière. At the time the 21-year-old looked like a can’t miss first overall pick having been dominant in the QMJHL and the World Juniors. But now just three years later the Rangers are facing quite the dilemma with the young forward. On one hand he is one of their few valuable trade chips, however, given their cap crunch his cap hit will likely give them a functional player on a reasonable contract.
Lafrenière has played a lot of bottom six minutes and hasn’t really seen the offensive opportunities that other first overall picks have had, however he also hasn’t shown the same skill level or skating as some of the other first overall picks before him.
Lafrenière had a career high 39 points this season in 81 games and did a much better job driving play than he had in previous seasons. However, he also enjoyed much more favorable deployment than in previous seasons which leads one to wonder if he will have better numbers in a different role under a new head coach.
Regardless of who is signing his checks next season Lafrenière is likely to be playing under a two- or three-year bridge deal with a cap hit like the $2.1MM that teammate Kaapo Kakko is playing under.
D K’Andre Miller – Miller’s next contract is going to make for a very interesting negotiation. He is the Rangers best left shot defenseman and played at a very high level for the past two seasons including this past year where he posted nine goals and 34 assists in 79 games. While 43 points total isn’t elite for a defenseman, his 38 even strength points are. Miller saw very little powerplay time and still managed to post very strong offensive numbers.
While his offensive numbers are good, he and partner Jacob Trouba went through some long stretches this season where they couldn’t keep the puck out of their own net. While they turned it around, Miller’s defensive struggles could work against him in negotiations. It’ll be interesting to see how the Rangers navigate their negotiation with the 23-year-old St. Paul native. It’s unlikely they will give him the Rasmus Dahlin contract at a cap hit of $6MM, but an average annual value between $4MM and $5.5MM seems very possible.
Key Unrestricted Free Agents
F Patrick Kane – The Rangers acquired the three-time Stanley Cup champion at the trade deadline this past winter and while things didn’t end up the way they’d hoped, they didn’t give up a lot of assets to acquire the player. Kane recently had surgery to resurface his hip and will be ready to play in 4-6 months. He makes for a curious free agent because any team that fancies themselves a contender likely won’t give out a big cap number until they can see skate again after his recovery. If this is the case, Kane could wait until after his recovery to see who the contenders are next season before inking a deal. The issue there for Kane would be that most teams will be close to the cap ceiling by the time the seasons starts. Kane is still a very productive forward (when healthy), this past season he put up 21 goals and 36 assists in 73 games during the regular season and followed it up with a goal and five assists in seven playoff games. If he were healthy Kane would probably be looking at a three-year deal worth around $6MM. But, because of his injury I think he will need to wait and sign a one-year deal closer to the start of the season or in season once he has recovers from his injury.
F Vladimir Tarasenko – Tarasenko arrived from St. Louis to a lot of fanfare in New York but couldn’t help the Rangers get over hump in the Eastern Conference. The 31-year-old put up 18 goals and 32 assists in 69 games split between the Blues and the Rangers and struggled in the playoffs putting up just four points in seven games. The Rangers would probably like to sign Tarasenko to a short-term deal but given their lack of cap space they likely can’t pursue the winger. Tarasenko will be interesting negotiation as he struggled to drive play last season and isn’t the player he once was. He’ll still find work, and a good little pay day, but it won’t be at anything close to the $7.5MM he made on his previous deal.
G Jaroslav Halák – It’s hard to believe that Jaro Halák is still chugging along at the tail end of his NHL career. He has struggled in recent years, but the veteran continues to find work in the NHL on one-year contracts. Halak hasn’t posted a .905 save percentage in any of the past three seasons but has been able to stay slightly above average in expected save percentage. Currently Halák is a good backup option for a team that is looking for average goaltending 20-25 nights of the year. He will likely be able to fetch a one-year contract at around $1MM.
Other UFAs: Niko Mikkola, Tyler Motte
Projected Cap Space
The Rangers emerged from a quick rebuild just a few seasons ago and had plenty of draft capital and a lot of salary cap flexibility. Now just a few years later the Rangers are in a very precarious salary cap situation as they have just $11.8MM in cap space with 14 players signed for next year. While that is a bit alarming, the good news for New York fans is that most of the core is signed for at least the next two years to fairly reasonable contracts. That being said, there are a few deals that general manager Chris Drury would probably like the opportunity to dump should an opening arise.
The club likely won’t have room to extend Kane or Tarasenko without moving out a very good player and given the age of both players they may want to pass on doing so. The Rangers are also two years out from having to give superstar netminder Igor Shesterkin a new deal, one which could potentially eclipse $9MM annually if he can duplicate his 2021-22 season in the next two seasons. With all of that going on, it’s unlikely that there will be big changes this summer on Broadway.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images. Contract information courtesy of CapFriendly.
East Notes: Sabres Injuries, Stamkos, Steeves
The Buffalo Sabres issued updates on several key injuries this morning. Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is still day-to-day with an upper-body injury and did not practice with the team this morning. A few moments later, the team announced that goaltender Eric Comrie is listed as week-to-week with a lower-body injury. Fortunately, Mike Harrington of TBN Sports shared a video of Alex Tuch practicing in a regular jersey this morning; he has been out of the lineup since their February 24th game against the Florida Panthers.
Going 4-5-1 in their last ten games, the Sabres are beginning to falter in the Eastern Conference playoff race. After their loss last night, they are now seven points behind the New York Islanders, the current holder of the final wild-card spot. With three games in hand, the Sabres are not out of it yet, but the injuries to the back end will not help their playoff aspirations. On the bright side of things, the potential return of Tuch gives Buffalo the ability to put another point-per-game player back into their lineup. In 57 games this year, Tuch has scored 28 goals and 34 assists, helping create a solid trio with Tage Thompson and Jeff Skinner.
Other notes:
- In an awkward collision into the boards with new Chicago Blackhawks forward Joey Anderson, Steven Stamkos left yesterday’s game with an apparent leg injury. After getting up, Stamkos appeared to be unable to put any pressure on his left leg, hobbling back to the bench. The Tampa Bay Lightning have given no official update as to the status of Stamkos, but the team did report that head coach Jon Cooper believes he will be “OK”, and they kept him out last night’s game as a precaution. With 16 games remaining in the regular season, the Lightning are battling with the Toronto Maple Leafs for home territory in the first round.
- In a press release this morning, the Maple Leafs announced that forward Alex Steeves has been recalled from their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies, a day after he was demoted to the minors. In 55 games this season with the Marlies, Steeves has scored 17 goals and 28 assists. The Maple Leafs have employed him more sparingly throughout the year, playing in only three games with the NHL club, and averaging just under eight minutes of ice time.
Buffalo Sabres Place Rasmus Dahlin On Injured Reserve
The Buffalo Sabres announced on Thursday that defenseman Riley Stillman has been added to the active roster, while defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has been placed on injured reserve.
Dahlin has missed the past two games with an undisclosed injury, a significant blow for the Sabres as they continue to battle for a playoff spot. They’ve conceded nine goals in their past two outings without Dahlin, and while they were able to rally for seven goals to defeat the Washington Capitals, poor defense cost them points against the league-worst Columbus Blue Jackets.
The 22-year-old has been one of the top defensemen in the league this season, recording a jaw-dropping 62 points in 56 games. He leads all Sabres skaters in ice time, averaging 26:01 per game. He’s still classified as day-to-day, though, and could be activated ahead of Monday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers if healthy. However, the move to injured reserve confirms he’ll miss at least the next two games.
It’ll be a tough go for those two games against high-powered division rivals: the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning. Stillman is ready to join the team after being acquired Monday from the Vancouver Canucks and clearing immigration hurdles. Although he provides NHL experience, he doesn’t move the needle much to fill in for someone of Dahlin’s caliber. It means the pressure shifts almost entirely to rookie Owen Power to ensure the Sabres don’t lose too much ground in the playoff race over the next few days.
The 24-year-old Stillman had played in 32 games for the Canucks before the trade, registering five assists. Now on his fourth NHL team, Stillman could relieve Jacob Bryson in the lineup. His pairing with Ilya Lyubushkin has been the team’s worst in terms of expected goals among pairings with at least 150 minutes together, per MoneyPuck.
Buffalo remains in a playoff spot by points percentage, but the New York Islanders and now-fortified Ottawa Senators stay on their tail.
Rasmus Dahlin To Replace Tage Thompson At All-Star Game
One of the most obvious snubs of All-Star season has gotten an invite, even if it was a little late. Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin has been added to the festivities, replacing teammate Tage Thompson, who will miss the event due to injury.
In reality, Dahlin should have already been on the roster. The 22-year-old defenseman has a career-high 55 poinits through 49 games, putting him 21st among all NHL skater. On defense, he trails only Erik Karlsson in both goals and points, while also sitting 13th in plus-minus.
There is little doubt that he is among the best in the league this season, and will be rewarded with his second appearance at the All-Star event.
It is disappointing for Thompson, of course, as he is also having an outstanding season. With 34 goals in 50 games, he’s become one of the most dominant power forwards in the league. He’ll miss out, but there will likely be plenty more All-Star recognition for Thompson in the future.
Afternoon Notes: Schedule, Stone, Sabres, Team Canada Captains, Hershey Bears
More hockey? You’d be hard-pressed to find a fan who wouldn’t want it. Earlier this week, there had been some discussions about the NHL potentially expanding the season back to an 84 game schedule for the first time since the 1993-94 campaign. Last night on Hockey Night in Canada’s 32 Thoughts segment, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman expanded on those rumors with an idea of what that schedule might look like, and how the league could get there.
In effect, the schedule would be expanded an additional two games to promote intra-division rivalries, such as the one between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers or the one between the New York Rangers and New York Islanders, both of which have seen their head-to-head matchups drop off in recent years. As Friedman details, the schedule would consist of four games against each of the other teams within the division, three games each against each team in the opposing division, and two against each team in the opposite conference. To balance things out, each team’s slate of preseasons games could be cut down. It doesn’t appear that any change is imminent, however Friedman adds that there is a willingness to discuss the change between the league and the NHLPA, however there hasn’t been much dialogue on the subject recently.
- Things didn’t look good for Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone last night when he went down in obvious pain during the third period of the team’s game against the New York Islanders. The winger struggled to get off the ice with the assistance of his teammates, but surprisingly was able to come back and join them in the final moments of the game. Unsurprisingly, after the game, Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy was asked about the status of his star forward, telling The Athletic’s Jesse Granger that the hope is Stone’s injury is “just a stinger,” but he wouldn’t know much more until today. Cassidy added that Stone was not 100% when he rejoined the team late in the game. So far, no additional information has come out about Stone’s status. Vegas next plays at home on Monday against the Sabres.
- Yesterday, the Buffalo Sabres were able to get forward Kyle Okposo back from injury and Jeff Skinner back from suspension, but were without defensemen Owen Power, Jacob Bryson, and Ilya Lyubushkin. The team didn’t have much information on Power or Bryson, and the same holds true today, however according to The Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington, Ilya Lyubushkin is set to return tomorrow against Vegas. Noticeably absent from the ice this morning were defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Mattias Samuelsson, but as Harrington adds, both were absent simply for rest purposes.
- With the World Junior Championship just eight days away, Hockey Canada announced its leadership group for this year’s World Juniors team. Captaining the group will be Seattle Kraken forward and fourth-overall pick in 2022, Shane Wright. Assisting him will be Arizona Coyotes forward Dylan Guenther, Dallas Stars draft pick and current Kamloops Blazers forward Logan Stankoven, Anaheim Ducks draft pick and Quebec Remparts forward Nathan Gaucher, as well as Chicago Blackhawks draft pick and Mississauga Steelheads defenseman Ethan Del Mastro. Canada will kick things off against Czechia on December 26th.
- Many don’t necessarily think about when an NHL team chooses to recall a player from their affiliate, it could set off a chain reaction of needs within their system, and that’s just what happened with the Washington Capitals and their goaltenders. When Darcy Kuemper went down a couple of weeks ago, the team recalled Hunter Shepard, which Hershey was able to cope with by recalling Clay Stevenson from the ECHL. No problem. But, when Washington also recalled Zachary Fucale yesterday in the wake of Shepard’s upper-body injury, Hershey was forced to sign an emergency back-up to a PTO for their game last night. Today, the Bears were able to smooth things out in net prior to their game against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms this afternoon, bringing up netminder Tyler Wall from the South Carolina Stingrays, Hershey and Washington’s ECHL affiliate. In a corresponding move, defenseman Martin Has has been sent to South Carolina. While this is a relatively minor move, it does give context for the transactions NHL teams make that sometimes seem to be done just for the sake of doing them.
Injury Notes: Zadina, Byram, Hornqvist, Chytil, Dahlin
After a major offseason overhaul rivaled only by the Ottawa Senators, expectations have been big for the Detroit Red Wings this season, however the team has gotten itself off to an up-and-down start. Sitting at 5-3-2 coming into today, the team would be faced with one of its tougher tasks of the young season this afternoon: a showdown with the New York Islanders, who were on a five-game winning streak. Detroit answered the call, shutting out the Islanders 3-0. That win appears to have come at a price, however. Forward Filip Zadina went down late in the third period after appearing to block a Ryan Pulock shot.
After the game, Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde, provided an update to the media, including Michigan Live’s Ansar Kahn. According to Lalonde, Zadina’s injury “doesn’t look good” and Detroit may not see the winger for a while, adding that the team would know more tomorrow. Soon to be 23-years-old, Zadina has yet to become the player Detroit hoped he would be when he was drafted sixth-overall in 2018, and has zero points through his first nine games this year, including today. But, with Detroit missing more than its fair share of forwards, including Tyler Bertuzzi, Jakub Vrana, Oskar Sundqvist, and Robby Fabbri, losing Zadina for any period of time will surely be felt.
- For those who watched today’s NHL Global Series contest in Tampere, Finland between the Colorado Avalanche and Columbus Blue Jackets, noticeably absent from Colorado’s blueline was Bowen Byram. The defenseman was replaced in the lineup by Jacob MacDonald, who was playing in just his fourth game of the season. Thus far, there is no word on the severity of Byram’s injury, however The Athletic’s Peter Baugh reports that it’s a lower-body injury. While no injury is good news, for Byram, who has dealt with a number of concussion-related issues in his past, having the injury apparently be unrelated to that is somewhat of a relief. The former fourth-overall pick is off to a strong start to the season, scoring two goals to go with three assists in 10 games to date.
- Florida Panthers winger Patric Hornqvist, who suffered an upper-body injury early in Thursday’s game against the San Jose Sharks, is considered day-to-day, head coach Paul Maurice told the media, including Bally Sports’ Katie Engleson. The veteran has just one goal through 11 games to start the season, but with Florida missing several key pieces from last year’s team, they will need a quick recovery from Hornqvist and renewed production to help supplement their offense going forward.
- New York Rangers center Filip Chytil expects to play in the team’s game tomorrow afternoon against the Red Wings. While Rangers head coach Gerard Gallant did not confirm that Chytil would be in the lineup, the forward did tell USA Today Sports’ Vince Mercogliano that he feels 100%. Still, Gallant is hopeful he can play Sunday. Chytil, who hasn’t played since October 23rd, was believed to be dealing with a concussion, said Larry Brooks of the New York Post. The 23-year-old had three points in six games prior to the injury.
- Per Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News, Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato confirmed that defenseman Rasmus Dahlin will miss tonight’s game in Tampa Bay against the Lightning with an upper-body injury. Granato declined to go into specifics on the injury but, Harrington says, it likely occurred during Friday night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes, when Dahlin was involved in a scuffle with Hurricanes forward Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Thankfully for Buffalo, Dahlin is listed as day-to-day, but his injury is yet another in a long line of defensemen going down in the Buffalo organization this season, whether that be at the NHL or AHL level. Defenseman Ilya Lyubushkin, who has missed the last four games with injury, draws back in tonight in place of Dahlin.