Buffalo's free agent list. Re-sign or not re-sign? If so, how much?

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The Buffalo Sabres re-signed forward Johan Larsson to a one-year, $950K contract extension on April 29th. Larsson hit career-highs in goals (10) and points (17) and centered the Sabres most consistent line in the latter half of last season.

Sabres GM Tim Murray and AGM Mark Jakubowski have their work cut out for them as they have 24 free agents to make decisions on, 23 if you discount goalie Andrey Makarov, who's back home in Mother Russia and was none too happy with what he perceived as grossly unfair treatment by the Sabres organization.

With that said here's the list of free agents, their current cap-hit, an opinion as to whether or not Buffalo should re-sign said player and a gander as to how much they might be re-signed for if all sides put ink to paper.

Today we begin with unrestricted free agents.

Buffalo will have a different goalie tandem tonight and a new face on defense

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The Buffalo Sabres have recalled goalie Nathan Lieuwen (2011, 167th-ovrerall) from Rochester this morning to back-up Chad Johnson tonight as starter Robin Lehner is still having ankle issues.

Lehner suffered a high ankle sprain early in the second period in the season opener vs. the Ottawa Senators and after a prolonged recovery period he was back on the ice in January. Since his return Lehner has played in 20 of the last 28 games for Buffalo. High-ankle sprains have a tendency to linger for a long time and it would seem as it Lehner tweaked it to the point where he'll need some time on the bench.

Word of a possible flare-up came last week as he had an unscheduled maintenance day which was not attributed to his ankle at the time. Johnson wound up getting the start for Sunday's matinee game vs. Carolina despite a gap in the schedule that didn't have them playing until Wednesday night. Lehner was in net for the overtime loss vs. Montreal and missed practice yesterday to get his ankle re-evaluated.

Head coach Dan Bylsma told the gathered media post-practice yesterday that Lehner has felt [his ankle] ever since he's come back. "A couple times he’s jammed it into the post and felt it a little more. It kind of happened a week ago and a little bit Wednesday night in the game.

“Having the high-ankle sprain, it’s an injury that probably doesn’t leave you for a good two and a half months," continued Bylsma. "It’s just the nature of the injury and dealing with it."

Ramp-up to the 2015 NHL Draft Pt. 2--The d-pipeline

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With the emergence of Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman and his dominant performance thus far in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the defenseman seems to be taking center stage in the NHL. And it's not just a matter of Hedman being matched up against a really good team with some top-notch players. The  6'6" 232 lb. native of Sweden has been at the fore of shutting down elite talent in the Chicago's Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane and his play has overshadowed the Blackhawk's two-time Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith who, up until this series with the Lightning, was in serious consideration for the Conn Smythe Trophy as this year's playoff MVP.

Perhaps were seeing a new era in the NHL where the defenseman is King of the Hill. Both Hedman and Keith are the complete package--two-way skill, speed and smarts--although the scary part about Hedman is that he does it five inches taller and 40 lbs. heavier than Keith. Not to be dismissed in the series either is Hawks d-man Brent Seabrook, a big, strong all-around d-man with offensive acumen and a bit of a bite to his game.

Individual player development in Rochsester and were to go from here

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This is the second of a two-part series reviewing the Rochester Americans season

In deciding Rochester Americans head coach Chadd Cassidy's fate, the black and white of an AHL won/loss record isn't the only factor to be taken into consideration. Buffalo GM Tim Murray will be looking at how the young players developed in Rochester, from stars down to rookie free agents.

With a 27th place finish by the Amerks and the opportunity for Murray to have a fresh start in Rochester, the odds looked to be stacked against Cassidy at this point. Yet the Amerks bench boss, who was in his second full season as head coach, had his share success stories in player development. "If development is what matters most to Sabres general manager Tim Murray," wrote Amerks beat writer Kevin Oklobzija of the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, "then Cassidy and his staff seemingly will be back. The kids got better. They grew, they didn't repeat mistakes and they were, in most cases, effective when called up to the NHL."

Forward Johan Larsson is a prime example.

Larsson finally broke through at the NHL-level last month after strong year over year development in Rochester. He took his pesky two-way game from top-six to top-line for the Amerks and was able to up his production as well. After fits and starts to his NHL career, and despite a tinge of self-pity after being sent down back in January, Larsson, with the help of the coaching staff, worked through some deficiencies (mostly mental) and he was finally able to take his game to, and succeed at, the NHL level

Amerks finally find something to feel good about.

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While the parent club was busy taking down the Florida Panthers on Saturday night for their ninth win in 12 games, the Rochester Americans were facing the back-end of a home-and-home against a team they've had little success against this season.

To say it's been a brutal stretch for the Rochester Americans would be an understatement. Six losses in a row, 2-8-0-0 in their last ten. Goaltending was erratic, defense inconsistent, and a once potent offense that was at the top of the league at one point in the season had lit the lamp a mere 11 times in last eight games. The team they faced last night, the Hamilton Bulldogs (MTL,) had just beaten them the night before and increased their record to 4-1 vs. the Amerks so far this season.

Crisis? What crisis?

Shall we go on?

Their leading scorers, Phil Varone, Johan Larsson, Luke Adam, Mikhail Grigorenko, Tim Schaller, and Joel Armia totaled four goals in the last eight games.

Armia has been sidelined with an upper-body injury for the last seven games and although one player does not an offense make, the big winger has a tendency to open up the ice for himself and his linemates. He had 15 points (6+9) in 19 games before his injury.

Joining Armia on the injured list are veteran defensemen Drew Bagnall and Nick Petrecki.

Bagnall's been sidelined the last four games while Petrecki has missed the last two. It left head coach Chadd Cassidy without a veteran presence on the blueline. Although his d-corps are gamers, they're very young. The "vets" on the back end are 24 yr. old Chad Ruhwedel and 23 yr. old Matt MacKenzie. Ruhwedel is beginning his second full season while MacKenzie has been bouncing between the AHL and ECHL the over the course of the previous three seasons.

No further evidence needs to be presented of their youth than the plight of Jake McCabe last night. In the first period with the Sabres up 1-0, the rookie was schooled by TJ Hensick at the Buffalo blueline. Hensick lifted a sleeping McCabe's stick on the backcheck and went in 2-on-1 with Drayson Bowman. Bowman buried Hensick's pass top-shelf, blocker side to tie the game. On the second Hamilton goal, McCabe was caught in no-man's land on a weak shot-block attempt. He not only failed to block the shot, he provided a nice little screen.


McCabe, though, would forget the first period and rest of the game he was solid. "Jake's been playing really well," said Cassidy. "we forget sometimes that he's only 21 yrs. old playing in a league with men. He competes hard, he plays hard on the puck in the d-zone, finishes off guys and is difficult to play against.

"[But,] he's still only 21 yrs. old, we [need] to keep that in mind."

Cassidy really doesn't have a "youth problem" per se up front, but with Armia out there was a pretty big void in the skill department. The coach did some juggling in Friday's game by moving Varone from center to the wing and followed through with that on Saturday. On the other wing Larsson with Grigorenko in the middle. Like the Sabres, Cassidy pretty much has himself a one-line offense.

"It's a different group this year," he said. "Last year we had two lines grind it out and skill up top [in the top-six]. Larsson, Grigorenko and Varone, they'll have a lot of rushes through the neutral zone and they'll have a lot of possession time, but really, our other [three] lines get it in deep and get a touch on [the puck]."

With only one skill line right now, Cassidy said "It's more of playing to that identity and an understanding that everybody's got to play a little different. As long as you're playing to your strengths and you're helping you're team out, that's what we need from each guy."

Up and down the lineup the coach got what he needed from his guys. McCabe recovered well from a rough first period. Chad Ruhwedel had a bit of redemption on his game-winner as he'd been foiled on a golden opportunity earlier. Larsson had three assists including a sweet cross-ice feed to Ruhwedel. Makarov was solid in net, coming up big when needed. Adam played out of character and paid the price with two ice packs on after blocking a couple shots.

"We played desperate," he said. "Guys know that it hasn't been good. We've played well enough to be in games and have opportunities to win, but we didn't have that push to win hockey games. We did tonight."

It was the first game of a season-long eight-game homestand. In all they'll be playing 11 out of the next 12 at home before they hit the road for 11 of 12. Having them pull out a gutsy win beats the alternative and after an extremely rough stretch, Cassidy was pretty relieved.  "We found something to feel good about," he said.

Catching up with Don Stevens and the Rochester Americans

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Plenty on the docket tonight for Sabres fans to watch as three contests are of relevance to the organization.

The Sabres are at home for their fifth back-to-back of the season as the Edmonton Oilers come to town. Edmonton is one point ahead of the Sabres in the league standings thus far and may be the most disappointing team in the league.

The Oilers are a team that had three consecutive first overall picks (2010-12) including claiming victory in the "Fail For Nail" campaign of 2012, yet it looks as if they're gunning for this year's prize prospect, Connor McDavid. If the Oilers continue to plummet to the bottom of the league (which wouldn't be tanking, would it?) they'll have a good shot at McDavid or the next two top-prospects, C, Jack Eichel and D, Noah Hanifin. Both are considered top-notch prospects who would be at or near the top of any draft year.

And for those interested in seeing them in action, the collegians face off against each other tonight as Eichel's Boston University Terriers face off against Hanifin and his Boston College Eagles in a battle of #5 vs. #3 in the college ranks. Game time is 8pm on NBCSN.

Sabres headed to Toronto with a little wind at their backs

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It could have been disasterous. Well. About as disasterous as a last place team could expect.

The victory at San Jose' was a welcome reprieve from the ineptitude of the first two west coast contests and it provided the team with some postitives as it heads to Toronto tomorrow night.

First off, they were able to come out of the San Jose' contest with a win in regulation, the first time they could make that claim this season. Second, they showed they could score two goals, and they could do it with players not named Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Marcus Foligno and Torrey Mitchell, the only four players to have scored through the first eight games. The Sabres were also able to head into the third period with the lead for only the second time all season, and unlike their game against Carolina, were able to hold on to the lead.

So that's good.

What's even better is that the Sabres have two winnable games in front of them.

Another dirty hit by a dirty player

Sabres d-man Chad Ruhwedel left the game last night early in the third period after a crushing elbow to the head by Flyers winger Zac Rinaldo.

In the still at the right, Ruhwedel releases his shot from the point. He's off-balance and clearly in a vulnerable position.

Rinaldo's got him lined up, shoulder tucked, elbow cocked and he's ready to unload.

News and notes from the weekend

It was a real good weekend for the Sabres.

Two games, only one goal against, four of four points, a rise to 10th place in the standings.

That's the good news.

Unfortunately they have only five games left, they're four points back of the Rangers having played two more games and still only have a slim chance to make the playoffs. What's worse, they've gone from 27th in the league to 21st, which means they'd be picking 10th or 11th (dependent upon who wins the lottery) if the draft were today.

There's a vocal minority of fans who are booing this move up the standings. Their cry, "They even suck at sucking!" Their goal:  Tank for a top-three pick.

They have a point. Why win now?

There were three opportunities throughout this shortened season to gain valuable points. Three times they went on four-game winless streaks.

The first one straddled the end of the Lindy Ruff era and the beginning of the Ron Rolston era. Four games, no points.

After a three-game winning streak, they proceeded to go four games without a win. Four games, this time two points.

With the team on the rise late in the month of March, they headed to the Sunshine State on a three-game winning streak, then proceeded to lose both games. They followed that up with two more losses at home. Four games, one point.

That pretty much sealed their fate for this season--out of the playoffs.

In addition, that pretty much brought to an end the era of Darcy Regier's "core."


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I've often felt that Rolston's time behind the bench was more of an evaluation period to see who could do what moving forward. Regier pretty much conceded the season at the deadline when he moved captain Jason Pominville for picks and prospects. No "build for the future while adding for the present" like he did the previous year with the trade for Cody Hodgson.

The roster shuffle brought in more youngins from the trade deadline through this weekend including two young defenseman, Mark Pysyk and Chad Ruhwedel.

Pysyk, a 2010 first round pick (#23 overall,) was brought in after Jordan Leopold and Robyn Regehr were traded and Alexander Sulzer was lost for the season.

He is a defensive defenseman who plays a simple game. A first year pro, Pysyk has shown immense poise in his own end and seems to always be in position.

Not bad for a 21 yr. old.

When Tyler Myers went down with a season-ending injury, the Sabres did not bring up a young d-man from Rochester.

They signed one of the better prospects out of college in Ruhwedel.

"Rudy" spent three seasons with U-Mass Lowell and his team just lost in the Frozen Four. He sat down with his coach before deciding to make the jump to the NHL a mere two days later.

In a perfect storm for the first team All-American, the Sabres needed a defenseman, while he was looking to sign with a team that would give him a shot in the NHL immediately. With the Sabres down to five defenseman, in he went for the afternoon game vs. Philly.

At 5" 11" 188 lbs., "Rudy" is on the smaller side for a defenseman, but he seems to play much bigger. He has two games under his belt and has acquitted himself very well with an even plus/minus rating in 24 total minutes of ice time.

For some nice background on the 22 yr. old and his whirlwind weekend, visit Bill Hoppe.


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In addition to the new bodies on defense, Luke Adam also got another shot with the big club.

He played in four games and scored a goal, but was a healthy scratch--in favor of John Scott-- the last two, which is not a good sign for him.

Scott has been playing really well for the team and has been earning his minutes. He played a season-high 10:43 vs Tampa yesterday.

He's doing a lot of things well on the ice in addition to his enforcer role. He seems to be skating real well (for him,) his positioning has been real sound, and he's leveling some players in the open ice.

This is not to say that he's a top-six or even a top-nine player, but he is showing signs that he might be able to stay in his enforcer role while playing fourth-line minutes.

Oh, and he's pretty funny too, adding a bit of levity to a bleak Sabres season by punkin' the youngins.







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Scott was on a line with Drew Stafford and Marcus Foligno over the weekend forming a pretty beefy line.

Interesting to note that Foligno centered the trio.

The Sabres have a lot of skill up the middle, but lack size (Adam was to have addressed that,) and Foligno at center certainly would address that.

In two games at center he's done very well on the dot winning 15 of 19 draws.

Obviously there's more to the center position than just faceoffs (just ask Paul Gaustad,) but it's an intriguing stat none the less.

Also, playing the center position forces a player to be fully engaged on the ice. At 21 Foligno has had his up moments where he's a power forward causing havoc in front of the net and along the boards and he's had his down moments where he doesn't move his feet.

Not sure what will happen, but in a year like this, why not see what he has at center?

I mean, they're already using a defenseman who's fresh out of college in their top-six.

What can it hurt at this point of the season?