Reprinted with permission from hockeybuzz.com
Back on June 29th, the Buffalo Sabres tendered qualifying offers to seven of their restricted free agents, and as of yesterday only one remains unsigned.
On Monday of this week versatile forward Phil Varone agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with the team. The 5'10" 185 lb. Varone played in 28 games for the Sabres last season, including a stint on the top line, scoring five points (3+2) while averaging 13:26 minutes of ice-time/game. The two-way deal would indicate Varone's slated for Rochester unless he blows the team away with an exceptional training camp.
The following day D, Mark Pysyk signed a two-year deal. Pysyk has largely been a victim of circumstance in the debacle that was the last two seasons, and despite his readiness to play with the big club he was limited to only seven games in Buffalo, yet in those games he scored two goals and added an assist in 18:10 TOI. The smooth and steady, puck-moving defenseman with shutdown acumen looks to be penciled in on the second pairing at this point.
Yesterday the team announced that three more RFA's signed their qualifying offers--F, Tim Schaller, D, Jerome Leduc and G, Nathan Lieuwen. And today, reports have F, Johan Larsson signing his tender.
Schaller signed a two-year deal with the Sabres after leaving Providence in 2013 and really grew over the course of the last two seasons as a pro. After a rocky start to his pro career due in large part to the lingering affects of shoulder surgery, Schaller grew stronger and had an impact on the Amerks late in their playoff push. Last season he had 43 points (15+28) in 65 games for Rochester while also appearing in 18 games for the Sabres scoring his first NHL goal at Boston in December. Schaller is on a two-way deal and although he could make the Sabres out of camp, he looks to be part of a pretty strong top-six for the Amerks.
The 22 yr. old Leduc at one point last season looked to be on the precipice of moving on from the organization and possibly AHL hockey as well. He struggled at many points for Rochester but came on real strong to finish the season as he gained more ice-time. Leduc is an offensive defenseman who may end up being a late bloomer.
Lieuwen's tender was a mild leap of faith for the organization as the 6'5" 186 lb. former 6th-round pick (167th overall) has been dealing with concussion issues for over a year. Although the team thought he recovered from a concussion received playing in an April, 2014 game for Buffalo, they shut him down in January as he revealed he'd been plagued by vision issues the entire season. With the signing, the Amerks goal crease is getting pretty crowded.
Larsson had an impressive season in Buffalo and looks to have cemented his spot in the NHL. After fits and starts to his NHL career where he was unable to take his game to the NHL-level, Larsson put together a strong finish to the 2014-15 season and earned a spot on the top line. In 19 games post trade deadline Larsson had 12 points (4+8) and was a plus-1.
The remaining RFA is 24 yr. old D'Amigo who was acquired from the Columbus Blue Jackets for Luke Adam. D'Amigo only played in nine games for the Sabres last season and failed to hit the scoresheet. He had 19 points (6+13) in 31 games for Rochester.
Sabres GM Tim Murray still has plenty of wiggle room as the team is still a bit away from the 50 pro-contract limit. In a very loose, mid-summer line-up for both Buffalo and Rochester, the following are under contract:
Buffalo Sabres (22)
Evander Kane, Jack Eichel, Ryan O'Reilly
Matt Moulson, Zemgus Girgensons, Tyler Ennis
Jamie McGinn, Sam Reinhart, Brian Gionta
Marcus Foligno, Johan Larsson, Nic Deslauriers
David Legwand, Cody McCormick,
Zach Bogosian, Rasmus Ristolainen
Mark Pysyk, Josh Gorges
Carlo Colaiacovo, Mike Weber
Robin Lehner, Chad Johnson
Rochester Americans (22)
Cal O'Reilly, Phil Varone, Evan Rodrigues
William Carrier, Tim Schaller, Nic Baptiste
Jean Dupuy, Daniel Catenacci, Justin Bailey
Jack Nevins, Justin Kea, Jason Akeson
Colin Jacobs
Jake McCabe, Bobby Sanguinetti
Chad Ruhwedel, Matt Donovan
Jerome Leduc, Brady Austin,
Andrey Makarov, Nathan Lieuwen, Linus Ullmark
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