Summer Edition
The Buffalo Sabres and goalie Linus Ullmark are nearly $2 million apart heading into Friday’s arbitration hearing, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.
The Sabres offered Ullmark $800,000, while the Swede countered with $2.65 million, Friedman tweeted this morning.
For some perspective, Sabres starting goalie Carter Hutton has a $2.75 million salary.
Ullmark, who turns 26 today, earned $800,000 in 2018-19, his first full NHL campaign.... Read the full article
BUFFALO – An independent arbitrator has awarded Sabres forward Evan Rodrigues a one-year, $2 million contract, the club announced today.
The decision basically split the difference of what the sides had proposed.
Rodrigues, whose hearing was Tuesday, wanted $2.65 million, according to Sportsnet’s Elliott Friedman. The Sabres, meanwhile, offered $1.5 million, according to Friedman.
Rodrigues, 25, set career highs across the board last season, compiling nine goals and 29 points in 74 games. His versatility ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The Sabres will be hosting the Prospects Challenge rookie tournament again from Sept. 6 to 9 at Harborcenter, the team announced today.
The Sabres, Boston Bruins, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins will all be competing in a round-robin challenge.
Tickets for the games cost $10 and can be purchased starting at 10 a.m. on Aug. 2 at the KeyBank Center Box Office, Sabres.com or by calling 1-888-223-6000.... Read the full article
The Rochester Americans have signed defenseman Frank Hora and forward Shaw Boomhower to one-year AHL contracts, the Buffalo Sabres’ affiliate announced today.
Hora, a Cheektowaga native, spent last season with the ECHL’s Reading Royals, compiling two goals, 17 points and 36 penalty minutes in 70 games.
The 6-foot-2, 209-pound Hora, who attended Buffalo’s development camp in 2016, also made one AHL appearance with the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.... Read the full article
On a Rochester Americans team loaded with scorers and high-end AHL talent, goalie Scott Wedgewood’s exploits often got overshadowed.
But for much of the 2018-19 campaign, Wedgewood was the Amerks’ backbone, tending some of the league’s best goal.
After Christmas, Wedgewood won 16 of his first 21 appearances. Overall, he enjoyed a career season, compiling 28 victories and five shutouts in 48 games.
Still, it was evident Wedgewood, 26, would be moving on. The seven-year ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – The Sabres have signed top draft pick Dylan Cozens to a three-year, entry-level contract, the team announced today.
Cozens could miss rookie camp or training camp in September after undergoing successful surgery on his left thumb earlier this month.
The center, according to the Sabres, needs two to three months to recover.
The 6-foot-3, 180-pound Cozens hurt his thumb when defenseman Brandon Hickey hip-checked him during a development camp tournament.... Read the full article
The Buffalo Sabres have re-signed center Johan Larsson to a one-year, $1.55 million contract, the team announced today.
The Swede, 26, was a restricted free agent.
Larsson, a veteran of 331 NHL games, is one of three Sabres left from the 2013-14 squad that finished dead last in the NHL. Forward Zemgus Girgensons and defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen are the others.... Read the full article
Justin Bailey figured he fit in the Flyers’ plans. After arriving via a trade from the Buffalo Sabres organization in January, the Williamsville native shuttled between Philadelphia and the minors, playing 11 NHL games.
“Chuck Fletcher just traded for me in January,” Bailey told the Times Herald. “I got my games, I thought I showcased myself to the best of my ability with the opportunity that was given to me.”
But Fletcher, who took over ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – In January, defenseman Henri Jokiharju earned a gold medal at the World Junior Championship on a Finnish squad that featured Sabres prospects Oskari Laaksonen and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.
Jokiharju grew up with Laaksonen, another defenseman, in Tampere, and is one of his best friends. Jokiharju and Luukkonen, a youngster tabbed as Buffalo’s goalie of the future, played together with Team Finland at tournaments as teenagers.
After World Juniors, Jokiharju, 20, probably figured he ... Read the full article
BUFFALO – Following another underwhelming season, it felt like only a matter of time before the Sabres cut their losses and traded winger Alexander Nylander.
Through three years as a pro, Nylander, the eighth overall pick by the Sabres’ old regime in 2016, has mostly been a bust.
Sure, the Swede has occasionally showcased his slick skills. Still, he hasn’t consistently displayed the tenacity to match them.
Nylander, 21, couldn’t develop into a dominant ... Read the full article
