WNY and Buffalo NY Hockey Coverage
Free Agency Edition
Rasmus Dahlin shook off a poor start last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres have agreed to terms with defenseman Rasmus Dahlin on a three-year, $18 million contract, the team announced this morning.
Dahlin, 21, was the Sabres’ last restricted free agent. The Swede’s $6 million average annual value is the highest among the team’s defensemen.
Having traded Rasmus Ristolainen and lost Jake McCabe in free agency, the rebuilding Sabres will rely heavily on Dahlin this season.
Jack Eichel played only 21 games last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
OK, so maybe Jack Eichel hasn’t played his last game for the Buffalo Sabres. Perhaps later this season, if the captain undergoes neck surgery, he could wear blue and gold again.
That thought, of course, seemed preposterous not long ago. Eichel wants to be traded. The relationship between the Sabres and their frustrated star seems to have suffered irreparable damage over his desire to have artificial disc replacement surgery, a procedure the team won’t ... Read the full article
Henri Jokiharju has played two seasons in Buffalo. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
The Buffalo Sabres on Thursday locked up two of their three restricted free agents, re-signing center Casey Mittelstadt and defenseman Henri Jokiharju to identical three-year, $7.5 million contracts.
Defenseman Rasmus Dahlin is now the Sabres’ only restricted free agent. Training camp is scheduled to begin later this month.
The Mittelstadt and Jokiharju deals, which carry $2.5 million salary cap hits, could look like bargains in the near future.
Casey Mittelstadt started unlocking his potential late last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Early last season, Casey Mittelstadt toiled on the taxi squad and struggled to crack the Buffalo Sabres’ lineup as a winger. By the end of the year, however, he had morphed into the team’s No. 2 center.
The Sabres on Thursday rewarded Mittelstadt’s breakout stretch under new coach Don Granato, re-signing him to a three-year, $7.5 million contract.
Mittelstadt, 22, is the first key restricted free agent the Sabres have re-signed. Defensemen Rasmus ... Read the full article
Jack Eichel wants to be traded. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
BUFFALO – General manager Kevyn Adams’ strong words sounded like a not-so-subtle message to Jack Eichel’s agents, who recently said they expect the Sabres to trade their captain soon.
Adams won’t give in to Eichel’s demands and simply deal his best player because he wants out. The Sabres have an asset under contract.
“What’s critically important to make sure is clear that we’re in control of this process,” Adams said Thursday inside KeyBank Center. “We ... Read the full article
Rasmus Dahlin has played three NHL seasons. ©2021, Micheline Veluvlu
The Buffalo Sabres have extended qualifying offers to five restricted free agents, including defenseman Rasmus Dahlin and center Casey Mittelstadt, the team announced today.
Center Rasmus Asplund and defensemen Casey Fitzgerald and Henri Jokiharju also received qualifying offers before the 5 p.m. deadline.
The Sabres did not qualify forward Dawson DiPietro or goalie Stefanos Lekkas.... Read the full article
Owen Power talks to the media Friday. ©2021
BUFFALO – On Friday night, 60 family members and friends gathered in the backyard at Owen Power’s aunt’s house in Burlington, Ontario, to celebrate and support the 18-year-old.
Since the Sabres won the draft lottery seven weeks ago, it was assumed they would select Power first overall at Friday’s NHL Draft.
Still, Power, a Michigan defenseman, said he did not know the Sabres would take him until general manager Kevyn Adams announced the pick from ... Read the full article
There had been speculation Buffalo would expose Rasmus Ristolainen to Seattle. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Sorry, Ron Francis, you won’t get a chance to snatch Rasmus Ristolainen for your Seattle Kraken defense corps. The Buffalo Sabres protected the Finn for Wednesday’s NHL Expansion Draft.
But if Francis, Seattle’s general manager, wants to grab a defenseman from the Sabres, he can take Will Borgen or Colin Miller, both of whom were left unprotected.
The Sabres’ 11-man protected list the NHL released Sunday morning features zero surprises. There had been speculation the ... Read the full article
Will Borgen played 10 games for Buffalo last season. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Since the Buffalo Sabres drafted Will Borgen 92nd overall in 2015, he has morphed from a relatively unknown prospect into a defenseman on the cusp of regular NHL duty.
The Sabres have guided Borgen’s development from his college career at St. Cloud State through his early pro days with the Rochester Americans to the big leagues.
Prior to breaking his forearm last season, Borgen, 24, appeared to be close to securing a spot on Buffalo’s ... Read the full article
Jeff Skinner has struggled over the past two seasons. ©2021, Micheline Veluvolu
Buffalo Sabres winger Jeff Skinner has waived his no-movement clause for the upcoming NHL Expansion Draft, his agent, Don Meehan, confirmed to the Times Herald on Wednesday.
Skinner’s decision is significant. The Sabres can use his spot to protect a young forward – perhaps Rasmus Asplund, Anders Bjork or Tage Thompson – who could’ve been exposed to the Seattle Kraken next Wednesday.
Skinner, 29, has struggled since signing an eight-year, $72 million contract ... Read the full article