Sabres Slashes: An Offseason to Forget

Kevyn Adams and the Buffalo Sabres have had an offseason to forget. The team underperformed again in a shortened 2020-2021 season. Granted, the Sabres missed their best player and captain, Jack Eichel, for most of the season. The team looked like it wasn’t even trying most nights and leaving the goalies to make the save. Ralph Krueger was fired late in the season, and Don Granato took over. Under Granato, players looked looser, more relaxed, and started to look like they were having fun again.

Eichel was out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury, and this was just the beginning of the soap opera. There were reports that Eichel needed to get neck surgery to improve, and the Sabres’ organization was not allowing him to get it. The surgery was not a common one among hockey players, and the team wasn’t sure how he would recover. The Sabres did have him on the trade block around the NHL Entry Draft, but the asking price was too high for most teams because of the injury situation. As of now, Eichel is still on the Sabres’ roster and it will be interesting to see how this saga turns out. Does he not report to camp, sit out, or get traded? Only time will tell.

Adams and the Pegulas decided to remove the interim tag from the head coach and sign Don Granato to a three-year deal. This was the right move for the team. Granato seemed to let the players play and keep it simple after he took over the bench last season. He used players right and put them in situations to succeed. The team will likely be on a bit of the younger side this season, and I think Granato could help make them better, even though they’ll be in the hunt to win the NHL Lottery again this season.

Adams started the offseason with Will Borgen going to the Seattle Kraken in the NHL Expansion Draft. He quickly bounced back and managed to pull off a good trade before the NHL Entry Draft. The Sabres traded defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to the Philadelphia Flyers for the 2021 13th overall pick in the 2021 Draft, a third-round pick in the 2023 Draft, and defenseman Robert Hagg. The trade was a good one by Adams, and the Flyers overpaid for Ristolainen. There were probably other teams looking for Ristolainen’s services, which could have played a part in the haul. Hagg is a serviceable third-pairing defenseman who can kill penalties and doesn’t shy away from playing a physical game.

Drake Caggiula signed a one-year, $750,000 contract extension for the 2021-2022 season. Caggiula played 11 games with the Sabres last season and had two goals, one assist, and three points. The left winger has never played a full season in the NHL and will likely be a bottom-six depth player for the Sabres. Then again with the way this roster is shaping up, he could very well be a top-six player. It was a cost-effective deal for the Sabres, and Caggiula will have a chance to prove himself while with the team.

The Sabres lost players in free agency like Linus Ullmark, Jake McCabe, and Carter Hutton. Sabres fans would probably agree that it was time for these guys to go since the team didn’t turn around with them on the roster, but they were better than anything brought in by the Sabres brass in free agency. Adams and the Sabres couldn’t come to terms, and by the time Ullmark hit free agency, there wasn’t much left in the goalie market, so the team wound up signing Craig Anderson and Aaron Dell. There wasn’t an upgrade made in goal for the team this offseason.

Will Butcher and Mark Pysyk were the notable defensemen that were acquired in the offseason. Butcher was acquired in a trade with the New Jersey Devils, and Pysyk signed a free agency deal. Butcher had a decent first three seasons in the NHL but only played 23 games last season and became expendable after the Devils signed Dougie Hamilton to a substantial free agency deal. Butcher is a mobile defenseman who can move the puck, play top-four minutes and contribute offensively. Pysyk will likely play bottom-pairing minutes or be the oft-scratched seventh defenseman.

Adams was able to re-sign some restricted free agents to decent bridge deals. Brandon Davidson signed a new one-year deal worth $750,000. Forward Rasmus Asplund got a new two-year deal worth $825,000 per season. He had seven goals, four assists, and 11 points in 28 games last season. Casey Fitzgerald, the 24-year-old defenseman, signed a new two-year contract with a $750,000 cap hit per season. Fitzgerald has yet to make his NHL Debut, but has a good shot to do that this season. Adams re-signed Henri Jokiharju and forward Casey Mittelstadt to new three-year deals with a $2.5 million cap hit per season.

The Sabres did manage to get something for forward Sam Reinhart, who was a restricted free agent and due a big payday. It is just like the Sabres to trade a guy who has scored 20-plus goals in five of his last six seasons played because he was due a pay raise. In Adams’ defense, he was able to get a goalie prospect and a first-round 2022 Draft pick for Reinhart. I think that the Sabres will miss the goal-scoring and his ability to play top-six minutes. Reinhart wasn’t the best 200-foot player, but his ability to find the back of the net will be missed.

The Sabres still do not have defenseman Rasmus Dahlin under contract for the 2021-22 season. He is a restricted free agent and could opt to sit out until he has a new contract. The 21-year-old had a good rookie season under Phil Housley including 44 points in 82 games. His second season, first with Ralph Krueger, his numbers dipped a bit, but he was a bit better defensively. Last season was a strange one. Dahlin’s game was a complete disaster. Adams needs to get a deal done before camp starts because the last thing you want is another potential distraction off the ice for this team.

There are two reasons why the Sabres received a D-, and not a F for their final offseason grade. The first reason was the big haul that Adams managed to bring in for Ristolainen. The other reason was signing Don Granato to a new contract, and removing the interim head coach tag from last season. Once he took over behind the bench, the team played looser and were actually making some games competitive.