Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-8-2019
Is he a center? Is he a winger? That's what fans in Buffalo want to know about new Sabres forward Marcus Johansson. With Buffalo's top-six bereft of talent outside of their top line, and with the trade of No. 2 center Ryan O'Reilly last season virtually eliminating the middle-six in a scoring role, Sabres general manager Jason Botterill had some huge holes to fill. Yes, they need help at right wing behind Sam Reinhart but the biggest hole on the team to fill is that of a second line center behind Jack Eichel.
If you have a strong feeling of deja vu with the signing of Johansson as a possible center, welcome to the club. Back in 2011 the Sabres were in the same predicament heading into the off season needing to fill a top-six center spot and but couldn't land the big fish--Brad Richards. This year Matt Duchene was the prize center catch and he opted for a very team-friendly deal in Nashville. With Buffalo out of the Richards running (with some even saying they never were to begin with,) the Sabres turned their attention to winger Ville Leino, who was coming off a strong 53-point season for the Philadelphia Flyers. Buffalo's brass witnessed a strong performance by Leino in the playoffs against the Sabres that year and convinced themselves they could turn him into a center. Then GM Darcy Regier laid a 6yr./$27 million contract on Leino that they're still paying for it after buying him out in 2014.
The parallels between Johansson and Leino really aren't that strong and end there, however, but the Leino signing and the position change will always stick in the craw of Sabreland.
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
Monday, July 8, 2019
Where might Johansson slot in plus a look at Buffalo's forward depth chart
Buffalo's new forward, Marcus Johansson, just finished a 3yr./$13 million contract signed in 2016 while he was with the Washington Capitals. The Caps selected Johansson 24th-overall in the 2009 NHL Draft and traded him to the New Jersey Devils in 2017 (for a 2018 second and 2018 third round pick) to alleviate cap-problems. This past spring Johansson was on the move again as he was sent to the Boston Bruins as a rental for a 2019 second rounder and a 2020 fourth. After performing very well for the Bruins in their run to the 2019 Stanley Cup Final he became a free agent it was assumed that he'd be getting a nice bump from the $4.583 million AAV he was running with on his last contract.
It didn't happen like that as Johansson signed a two-year deal with the Sabres for an AAV of $4.5 million.
Sunday, July 7, 2019
Girgensons signs, four Sabres RFA's are in a group of 40 to file for arbitration
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-6-2019
Restricted free agent forward Zemgus Girgensons and the Buffalo Sabres reached an agreement yesterday on a one-year, $1.6 million deal, the same dollar amount he played for last season. The former first round pick (2012, 14th-overall) is the longest tenured Sabres player on the roster and will be entering his seventh season with the Blue and Gold. During his six years the organization has seen major changes which include the dismantling of owner Terry Pegula's inner circle, the dismissal of two team presidents, a six-month stint for a vice president of hockey operations, two general managers and five head coaches.
Both he and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (2013, eighth-overall) have endured a lot of changes since being selected by the Sabres in the NHL Draft yet the full force of fan disenchantment has been directed at these two players. The gist of the consternation,which has also been started by and/or fostered by local media, is that both have a part of a losing culture and that if the team wants to start turning their fortunes around, moving on from either or both would really get the team moving in the right direction.
Such is the life of a whipping boy.
Restricted free agent forward Zemgus Girgensons and the Buffalo Sabres reached an agreement yesterday on a one-year, $1.6 million deal, the same dollar amount he played for last season. The former first round pick (2012, 14th-overall) is the longest tenured Sabres player on the roster and will be entering his seventh season with the Blue and Gold. During his six years the organization has seen major changes which include the dismantling of owner Terry Pegula's inner circle, the dismissal of two team presidents, a six-month stint for a vice president of hockey operations, two general managers and five head coaches.
Both he and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen (2013, eighth-overall) have endured a lot of changes since being selected by the Sabres in the NHL Draft yet the full force of fan disenchantment has been directed at these two players. The gist of the consternation,which has also been started by and/or fostered by local media, is that both have a part of a losing culture and that if the team wants to start turning their fortunes around, moving on from either or both would really get the team moving in the right direction.
Such is the life of a whipping boy.
Saturday, July 6, 2019
With no more additions up-front, this is what the Sabres could look like
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-5-2019
The Fourth of July has come and gone with fireworks all over the place, except for the offices at KeyBank Center, home to the Buffalo Sabres. General Manger Jason Botterill had plenty of key holes to fill on the roster was relegated to adding some depth for the Sabres and the Rochester Americans so far this off season..
Buffalo has tough road to hoe again as this year's free agent market didn't offer a wealth of higher end players and the ones that were at the top, like Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene, chose their homes in NY (Rangers) and Nashville (Predators,) respectively. Bot Panarin and Duchene signed seven-year deals as did goalie Sergei Bobrovski (FLA) and Anders Lee, who re-signed with the NY Islanders.
Impact players for the Sabres didn't come from the free agency route, although there's a good possibility they're after one or more forwards still available, but they managed to land some viable NHLers via trade. Botterill sent a second (2021) and a fifth round pick (2022) to the Vegas Golden Knights for RHD, Collin Miller and he also sent a 2021 third-rounder to the Rangers for top-nine forward Jimmy Vesey. Miller adds to a pool of NHL defensemen that's overflowing while the forward ranks still needs a lot of work.
As of today (and if, God forbid, Botterill does nothing else this summer) a potential Buffalo roster construct would look something like this up-front:
Jeff Skinner-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Jimmy Vesey-Casey Mittelstadt-Tage Thompson*
Victor Olofsson*-Evan Rodrigues-Alexander Nylander*
Connor Sheary-Johan Larsson-Zemgus Girgensons
C.J. Smith
Scott Wilson
Vladimir Sobotka
Curtis Lazar
(*On entry-level deal and waivers-exempt)
Ideally Botterill can find a top-six forward (or two) to move others down the depth chart. As mentioned here on numerous occasions, signing forward Marcus Johansson and plugging him into top-six, right wing role would do wonders for the right side. Free agent forward Ryan Dzingel is another player still available offering plenty of flexibility in a top-nine role. Both might end up playing on a line higher than their ideal spot in Buffalo but with those two in the lineup and a little rearrangement, this is what it could look like up-front:
Skinner-Eichel-Johansson
Dzingel-Mittelstadt-Reinhart
Vesey-Rodrigues-Thompson
Sheary-Larsson-Okposo
Nylander
Girgensons
Smith
Wilson
Sobotka
Lazar
Although it isn't a Cup-contending forward group, it should be enough for them to take a big step in the right direction.
The Fourth of July has come and gone with fireworks all over the place, except for the offices at KeyBank Center, home to the Buffalo Sabres. General Manger Jason Botterill had plenty of key holes to fill on the roster was relegated to adding some depth for the Sabres and the Rochester Americans so far this off season..
Buffalo has tough road to hoe again as this year's free agent market didn't offer a wealth of higher end players and the ones that were at the top, like Artemi Panarin and Matt Duchene, chose their homes in NY (Rangers) and Nashville (Predators,) respectively. Bot Panarin and Duchene signed seven-year deals as did goalie Sergei Bobrovski (FLA) and Anders Lee, who re-signed with the NY Islanders.
Impact players for the Sabres didn't come from the free agency route, although there's a good possibility they're after one or more forwards still available, but they managed to land some viable NHLers via trade. Botterill sent a second (2021) and a fifth round pick (2022) to the Vegas Golden Knights for RHD, Collin Miller and he also sent a 2021 third-rounder to the Rangers for top-nine forward Jimmy Vesey. Miller adds to a pool of NHL defensemen that's overflowing while the forward ranks still needs a lot of work.
As of today (and if, God forbid, Botterill does nothing else this summer) a potential Buffalo roster construct would look something like this up-front:
Jeff Skinner-Jack Eichel-Sam Reinhart
Jimmy Vesey-Casey Mittelstadt-Tage Thompson*
Victor Olofsson*-Evan Rodrigues-Alexander Nylander*
Connor Sheary-Johan Larsson-Zemgus Girgensons
C.J. Smith
Scott Wilson
Vladimir Sobotka
Curtis Lazar
(*On entry-level deal and waivers-exempt)
Ideally Botterill can find a top-six forward (or two) to move others down the depth chart. As mentioned here on numerous occasions, signing forward Marcus Johansson and plugging him into top-six, right wing role would do wonders for the right side. Free agent forward Ryan Dzingel is another player still available offering plenty of flexibility in a top-nine role. Both might end up playing on a line higher than their ideal spot in Buffalo but with those two in the lineup and a little rearrangement, this is what it could look like up-front:
Skinner-Eichel-Johansson
Dzingel-Mittelstadt-Reinhart
Vesey-Rodrigues-Thompson
Sheary-Larsson-Okposo
Nylander
Girgensons
Smith
Wilson
Sobotka
Lazar
Although it isn't a Cup-contending forward group, it should be enough for them to take a big step in the right direction.
Friday, July 5, 2019
A light, semi-productive opening to free agency for the Sabres
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 7-2-2019
The Buffalo Sabres went into the start of free agency with some holes to fill up front and left with those holes mostly still there. There's a need at No. 2 center that needs to be filled and another top-six spot or two on the wing as well. Buffalo did nothing to address those with a free agent signing but were able to pull off a trade for top-nine forward Jimmy Vesey.
If that name sounds familiar, it should as the rights to Vesey were acquired by then Sabres GM Tim Murray for a third round pick. Vesey was drafted 66th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2012 NHL Draft and finished his four-years stint at Harvard by winning the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA's top player. Upon finishing up he let the Predators know of his intention to become a free agent in August. Nashville then sent his rights to the Sabres for a well-traveled third round pick that was originally Minnesota's but changed hands five other times before Nashville used it on center Rem Pitlick (76th-overall.)
Murray conceded it was "a gamble" at the time but also asked, "Why not us? Why not give it a shot?" The team just spent the prior four years drafting 34 players including 10 first rounders and were also seen as a team on the rise with a young core bolstered by a trio of young vets. However, Vesey's camp had repeated time and again that they would be testing the market come August 15. Vesey's father Jim, who had played for the Boston Bruins ever so briefly, said he was "surprised the deal went down.
"It's still my understanding that he's going to free agency," the elder Vesey said of his son. "The gameplan was to have a list of possible teams ready, get to Aug. 15 and then decide. I know nothing has changed. I bet Jimmy's surprised by [Buffalo trading for him] too."
Sure enough, Vesey tested the market and signed with the NY Rangers. Three years later the Sabres sent another third-round pick, this time to New York to acquire Vesey.
The Buffalo Sabres went into the start of free agency with some holes to fill up front and left with those holes mostly still there. There's a need at No. 2 center that needs to be filled and another top-six spot or two on the wing as well. Buffalo did nothing to address those with a free agent signing but were able to pull off a trade for top-nine forward Jimmy Vesey.
If that name sounds familiar, it should as the rights to Vesey were acquired by then Sabres GM Tim Murray for a third round pick. Vesey was drafted 66th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2012 NHL Draft and finished his four-years stint at Harvard by winning the Hobey Baker Award as NCAA's top player. Upon finishing up he let the Predators know of his intention to become a free agent in August. Nashville then sent his rights to the Sabres for a well-traveled third round pick that was originally Minnesota's but changed hands five other times before Nashville used it on center Rem Pitlick (76th-overall.)
Murray conceded it was "a gamble" at the time but also asked, "Why not us? Why not give it a shot?" The team just spent the prior four years drafting 34 players including 10 first rounders and were also seen as a team on the rise with a young core bolstered by a trio of young vets. However, Vesey's camp had repeated time and again that they would be testing the market come August 15. Vesey's father Jim, who had played for the Boston Bruins ever so briefly, said he was "surprised the deal went down.
"It's still my understanding that he's going to free agency," the elder Vesey said of his son. "The gameplan was to have a list of possible teams ready, get to Aug. 15 and then decide. I know nothing has changed. I bet Jimmy's surprised by [Buffalo trading for him] too."
Sure enough, Vesey tested the market and signed with the NY Rangers. Three years later the Sabres sent another third-round pick, this time to New York to acquire Vesey.
Tuesday, July 2, 2019
Noon is the official start of NHL free agency, but the action is already hot
There was a time in the NHL when the morning hours of July 1st was filled with anticipation as the noon start to free agency was set to begin. Chat rooms would be filled all morning with rumors and tidbits and waited for the stroke of noon like handicappers wait for the bell to open the gates of a horse race. We knew certain teams were interested in certain players and seemingly with every surprise move fans screamed "tampering!" as the player they thought had a surefire destination headed elsewhere.
That changed with the latest collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and the NHL Players Association with the two sides agreeing on a "courting period" where teams could contact free agents to find out what they're looking for. Although they may not enter into any agreements--written or oral--with a player, teams are free to find out what the parameters of a potential deal might look like from a player's perspective. At high noon, any potential deals can be finalized and sent to the league.
Beginning in earnest yesterday, various insiders started leaking probable deals set for the start of free agency today, which takes the surprise out of what once was "Christmas Day" for many fans. If there were some in Sabreland who were fired up about the possibility (however small) of landing free agent center Matt Duchene, reports from insiders have him staying in Nashville, in what looks like a very team-friendly deal for seven years at around $8 million per season.
Here's a partial list of projected signings based upon what was floating around social media the past 24 hours:
--F, Mats Zuccarello 5 yrs./$30 million (MIN)
--F, Joe Pavelski, 3 yrs./ $21M (DAL)
--G, Segei Bobrovsky $9.5M AAV (FLA)
--D, Tyler Myers 5 yrs./$30M (VAN)
--F, Corey Perry 1 yr./$1.5M incentive-laden deal (DAL)
--F, Richard Panik, 4 yr./$10M (WSH)
--G, Cam Talbot, 1 yr./$2.75M (CGY)
Of course nothing with the big UFA fish, Artemi Panarin, has been settled although it's said to be a race between the NY Islanders, Florida Panthers and NY Rangers with a late, high-end bids from the Columbus Blue Jackets and Colorado Avalanche.
In the case of the Buffalo Sabres, they never seemed to seriously be in the running for any of the aforementioned even if they wanted to be. However, word on social media is that Buffalo's name has been attached to forward Marcus Johansson, who ended up in the Stanley Cup Finals with the Boston Bruins.
That would be more along what the Sabres normally do in what's considered "silly season." The Sabres are rarely involved in big name signings preferring the trade-route as a way of improving the roster. The hot rumors out the past day or two involve a deal with the Panthers. Looks as if they're in the market for a defenseman with both Rasmus Ristolainen and Jake McCabe having their names attached to the rumor. Buffalo general manager Jason Botterill is said to be in the market for a top-six forward and Florida has an excess of those. Names like Mike Hoffman and Jonathan Huberdeau have surfaced as potential Cats headed back to Buffalo and either would be a good get for the Sabres. Also mentioned, rather briefly, was 21 yr. old center Henrik Borgstrom who's upside would make for a prime get for the Sabres.
With Botterill stating he's comfortable with the depth on defense we'll be looking for him to make a splash in the forward ranks. How it happens is up in the air but he seems pretty determined to upgrade the forward ranks.
Monday, July 1, 2019
We probably shoudn't count on any big fish when the Sabres go FA shopping
Published by hockeybuzz.com, 6-30-2019
Anyone who's against having pending UFA center Matt Duchene on the Buffalo Sabres is pretty much crazy. Having him anchor the second line for years to come behind Jack Eichel would be a formidable one-two punch. What's not crazy is having to pay the price he'll be commanding come July 1, the start of free agency.
The Sabres have been mentioned to be in the running for top free agents ever since Terry Pegula bought the team. The summer after he bought the team Buffalo was said to be one of the team's vying for the services of 2011's premier free agent, center Brad Richards. They fell short as Richards signed with the NY Rangers a 9yr./$60 million deal. Buffalo went with their backup plan that year and decided winger Ville Leino could move to center and with their playoff loss to Leino's Philadelphia Flyers still fresh in their memory, signed him to a 6yr./$24 million deal. Both teams are still paying for those mistakes. The Rangers bought out Richards in 2014 at a total cost of over $20 million until 2025-26 and Buffalo bought out Leino that same year paying him $7.333 million until the end of next season not to play for them.
Regardless of a dubious track record, NHL general managers still go all in on July 1 dishing out huge contracts for UFA's and most time end up regretting it.
Duchene's contract is probably going to land somewhere in the $11-12 million/season range and adds another dimension to the premise we opened up with. Whereas one would be crazy not to want him on the team, Buffalo would be crazy to dish out that kind of money and term (seven years) for a second-line center.
Such is the start of free agency which begins tomorrow.
Anyone who's against having pending UFA center Matt Duchene on the Buffalo Sabres is pretty much crazy. Having him anchor the second line for years to come behind Jack Eichel would be a formidable one-two punch. What's not crazy is having to pay the price he'll be commanding come July 1, the start of free agency.
The Sabres have been mentioned to be in the running for top free agents ever since Terry Pegula bought the team. The summer after he bought the team Buffalo was said to be one of the team's vying for the services of 2011's premier free agent, center Brad Richards. They fell short as Richards signed with the NY Rangers a 9yr./$60 million deal. Buffalo went with their backup plan that year and decided winger Ville Leino could move to center and with their playoff loss to Leino's Philadelphia Flyers still fresh in their memory, signed him to a 6yr./$24 million deal. Both teams are still paying for those mistakes. The Rangers bought out Richards in 2014 at a total cost of over $20 million until 2025-26 and Buffalo bought out Leino that same year paying him $7.333 million until the end of next season not to play for them.
Regardless of a dubious track record, NHL general managers still go all in on July 1 dishing out huge contracts for UFA's and most time end up regretting it.
Duchene's contract is probably going to land somewhere in the $11-12 million/season range and adds another dimension to the premise we opened up with. Whereas one would be crazy not to want him on the team, Buffalo would be crazy to dish out that kind of money and term (seven years) for a second-line center.
Such is the start of free agency which begins tomorrow.
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