This week we are joined by Matthew Coller of WGR 550 to discuss the aftermath of the Dmitri Kulikov/Mark Pysyk trade from both an on-ice and analytical perspective. We also jump into options for the Sabres on the free agent market as the opportunity to acquire Steven Stamkos, Kyle Okposo or others looms for Friday.
Thanks again to Matthew for joining us for this episode. As always, you can catch the podcast below or tune in via Sticher or on iTunes as well.
A quiet draft weekend from Tim Murray may leave the Sabres GM as a more active player in the free agent shopping spree this summer. He indicated as much after the draft, although even had Murray netted more than just Dmitri Kulikov over the weekend it seems as if he still would have been a player in free agency this summer.
There has been plenty of talk about Steven Stamkos and the Sabres’ role as a player for the star. However, Stamkos will come with a hefty cap hit that may actually be better spent elsewhere. The Sabres will and should still take a long, hard look at Stamkos given the skill he possesses and the resume he boasts. But there are plenty of other quality options available to explore. Here’s a list of some of the players I could see Murray extending offers to this year. Continue reading
The acquisition of Dmitir Kulikov balanced out the pairs on Buffalo’s blueline and may leave Tim Murray done for the offseason when it comes to his defense corps. However, he hasn’t found a true puck mover for his power play and it would seem advantageous to acquire at least one more body to fill that role.
The market really thinned out when Alex Goligoski and Keith Yandle signed their respective deals. Perhaps the Sabres just wait until Brendan Guhle is ready for NHL time, maybe that even means this season. Given the thin market, Murray may simply choose to add depth, but there are a couple attractive options available, including two listed here.
Additionally, the Sabres are without a backup goaltender at this moment. Assuming Linus Ullmark will play another season in Rochester, the Sabres will be looking for a replacement for Chad Johnson. Those options remain far more plentiful than along the blueline as free agency approaches. Continue reading
Before we began this venture Jimmy Vesey was still property of the Predators and both Alex Goligoski and Keith Yandle had yet to be moved, let alone signed. That only alters the course for Chris and Tyler so much, which is ideal. Here’s our second piece of how we’d build out the Sabres roster. Continue reading
By John Barrett
It’s a very interesting time to be a Buffalo Sabres fan. With the NHL Draft in spitting distance, and perhaps the most interesting free agency period in two decades, the Sabres have positioned themselves well for both regards eleven picks and loads of cap space.
The biggest hole on the Sabres roster is, as Tim Murray puts it “a power play quarterback,” defenseman that can be paired with budding star Rasmus Ristolainen and be a big-time point producer with the man advantage. There have been a few defensemen around the NHL whose names have been linked to the Sabres, via restricted free agency, unrestricted free agency and cap motivated trades.
I examined the stats of a handful of these potential targets, that focus on two major areas; puck possession and power play production. I focused on these two areas because they were two key focus points that came right from the horses mouth when Murray discussed his blueline. I plotted the two year averages for players on a matrix of 5v5 Corsi For % Relative to the team and points per 60 minutes on the power play.
Continue reading
Tim Murray will enter the offseason with a pair of pressing items on his to-do list. Get a left handed defender to fill in his top-four and grab a winger (or two) to fill out the top-six.
Somewhat like last summer when Murray was on the hunt for a goaltender, there are a host of options that will be available to him, but maybe not any one singular target fans may expect him to pursue. That’s excluding Steven Stamkos (who is a center) who will be on top of the wishlist for nearly every fan and general manager.
Looking beyond Stamkos, there are a number of players who I personally like as options for Murray to pursue via trade or free agency. Among the players I could see him considering is Jamie McGinn, who could certainly be re-signed after his trial with Anaheim this spring. While I’m unsure if McGinn’s salary demands will align with Murray’s expectation, you can count him as something of an honorable mention on this list.
While the trade route may be the most enticing route for Murray to pursue given Buffalo’s wealth of draft picks and the ability to pare down some of the clogged middle six bodies the team has, there are actually a couple of names who may hit unrestricted free agency I hope Murray considers. Continue reading
Steven Stamkos and his pending free agency have been in the news since last July, when he was first eligible to sign an extension with the Lightning. Despite Steve Yzerman’s decision to hang on to their talisman at the deadline in favor of a playoff run it seems that the days of Stamkos in Tampa Bay are coming to an end. 
It had always been widely believed that Stamkos would head closer to home and join the Toronto Maple Leafs, but recently that opinion has started to change a bit. Bob McKenzie, Nick Kypreos, and Darren Dreger have all discussed possible destinations for the Tampa Bay captain, and all three have Buffalo in assorted positions on the list of potential suitors. As recently as this week the Sabres were given the highest odds outside of Tampa Bay to sign the former 60 goal man. Stamkos to Buffalo talk dominated local sports talk both through main stream media and the Twitterverse for a solid period of time, and it is sure to heat up again as we inch closer to the draft and July 1. While measuring the likelihood of a player to sign with odds may be strange, I don’t think that Stamkos to Buffalo is a slam dunk. There are a number of pros and cons to consider as it pertains to the Sabres and this summer’s biggest free agent fish. Continue reading
For the second-straight season the Buffalo Sabres sit below the salary cap floor ahead of the opening of free agency. This is something I touched on last summer prior to free agency opening and my stance this year remains the same as it did last year; getting to the salary cap floor is the least of Tim Murray’s problems.
Buffalo will likely hit the draft floor with a hair over $10m in space ($10,714,645 per General Fanager). Should Cody Hodgson be bought out, the figure will move to $13,922,979. Buffalo was right around $12m to the floor last year and since I’m betting on Hodgson being bought out, I’m going to proceed with the higher figure as my goal for the cap floor.
The biggest differentiating factor this year is that there isn’t a large RFA deal on the horizon for the Sabres to help carve out their gap to the floor. Tyler Ennis alone took care of $4.6m in space when his new deal was inked last summer. The Sabres are ripe with restricted and unrestricted free agents, but no one who will be re-signed are expected to carry a significant hit. In fact, it’s unlikely that any of Buffalo’s RFAs see anything more than a qualifying offer.
Mark Pysyk and Johan Larsson are the two most prominent RFAs who could potentially ask for a bridge deal, but I’d still bet on qualifying offers for each. All this means is that the RFAs Tim Murray chooses to retain won’t eat up a major portion of the cap. In fact, I’d be surprised if more than two current RFAs are with the big club next year.
Working under the assumption that Sam Reinhart will start the year in Buffalo along with Tim Schaller, Pysyk and Larsson, I come up with an estimated figure right in the $3.5m neighborhood. That may be a little light but I’d rather aim low than set unrealistic expectations. For example, Mark Pysyk could get a bridge deal that pays him two or three million a year which would account for an even larger chunk of cap.
Those moves put the organization just $10.2m short of the floor without accounting for any trades or unrestricted free agent signings. I expect Murray to follow a nearly identical path as he did last year in free agency. Two forwards will likely be brought in to reinforce the top and bottom-six, a veteran defenseman will be acquired and a goalie will be needed this year as well. Continue reading
The US Olympic selection committee did an interesting thing providing complete access to a pair of reporters throughout their evaluation process for the 2014 Olympic Team. If you haven’t already read Scott Burnside or Kevin Allen’s breakdown of the process, I strongly recommend you do so now.
By giving the pair of decorated writers a chance to be the proverbial fly on the wall during the decision making process, USA Hockey not only provided a window into a process that most hockey fans ever dream of, but they also may have opened the door for other such ventures.
With 24/7 helping to increase exposure to the day-to-day operations of a hockey team – Dan Bylsma and Ray Shero breaking down their roster immediately springs to mind – fans began to start seeing things that they had no insight on before. With the tease at Dion Phaneuf’s contract negotiation in the most recent episode of the HBO series, I can only imagine that we’ll see a bit more in the series finale. Add the snippets of front office peeks from 24/7 and other similar programs to the all access work from Burnside and Allen and I think there is a recipe for even more interesting access to be provided by NHL franchises. Continue reading
There wasn’t much noise coming from First Niagara Center for most of June as Darcy Regier, Ron Rolston and company did their work without much outside contact.
Then came Sunday’s draft and the wheels were quickly put in motion as Regier began to shape his vision for Buffalo’s rebuilding process. Shortly thereafter, Joe Sacco was brought on as an assistant for Ron Rolston’s staff and the free agent courting process has officially begun.
Looking at the entire draft, there is very little to be upset about. Regier not only addressed an organizational desire for size and grit, he did so on the blueline. Rasmus Ristolainen is expected to be NHL ready which would make the bounty gained in Newark that much more impressive.
Outside of the two big defensemen, Regier scooped up plenty of offensive talent in rounds two through seven and stocked his cupboards well moving forward. But it’s the change that has come to the main roster that has caught my attention.
Regier is in full rebuild mode these days. By trading out Andrej Sekera for Jamie McBain (and the pick that became JT Compher) he shipped out a valuable commodity who contributed well last season. He also unloaded a player who probably could have used a fresh start on a new team which winds up being a win-win in my book.
Moving Sekera, to me, made sense. He had plenty of market value and should have been able to bring a strong return. Allegedly he was valuable enough to get the Sabres to the fifth overall pick, but Regier opted to bring in the extra pick along with McBain as opposed to just moving up three spots.
Give him credit for finding full value there. It seems as if Ristolainen was on top of Buffalo’s board after the big four prospects and with none of those players falling out of the top four, there was no reason to reach for their Finnish defenseman. In doing so, Regier still came away with Ristolainen while also snagging McBain and Compher. Once again, give him credit for getting full value.
The McBain acquisition was followed today by the buyout of Nathan Gerbe. While the move surprised many, it was a smart choice and will serve as a way to clear some additional space for those prospects who are making their way up the pipeline. Continue reading
Two in the Box 