BUFFALO, N.Y. — NHL Free Agency will begin on Wednesday at noon and as disappointing as it may be for some of you, the Buffalo Sabres are not going to be in on the high-priced players.
On Monday I had the chance to speak with Sabres GM Kevyn Adams on WGR, and he, once again, laid out his plan for the free agency which doesn’t include $10 million players.
He understands where fans are coming from, and said, “It’s understandable that people think about that, and there are players that are going to become available on Wednesday that is elite and it’s natural for the fans to think about that. But where we’re at right now, I really believe strongly the first step was identifying our young core and our players took steps last year, but we need to continue to help them grow, so we need to draft well, we need to develop our own and we need to pay them.
“So as we look at how we’re going to take the next step and then be a Stanley Cup Champion down the road it’s by our own core, so yes, you can go to the market and round out the edges if you’re right there like Colorado was to add a layer or two to put you over the top, but I don’t think ultimately that you can build your team through free agency. I think there’s contracts out there that feel good in the beginning and then years down the road, you may have set yourself back by doing something, so I don’t believe that’s the way to build a hockey team.”
I couldn’t agree more, if you look at the history of unrestricted free agency almost every one of the high-priced contracts is regretted within three years.
Look at the Sabres, for example, Ville Leino, Christian Ehrhoff, Matt Moulson, Kyle Okposo, and Jeff Skinner are all contracts that the team wanted to get out of and you see these every year, all over the NHL. Very few, and I mean very few of the big-name contracts work out in the end.
That doesn’t mean you can’t be active, but it has to be reasonable. Buffalo needs a veteran defenseman to mesh with their six young kids.
What is 29-year-old John Klingberg looking for? His cap hit was $4.25 million. Is 30-year-old Josh Manson a fit? He was traded to the Avalanche and won the Stanley Cup.
I think they should look at Troy Stecher, who captained Canada’s World Championship team in 2020-21. Stecher is 28 years old and could fit what they’re looking for. There’s really not a lot out there, so again, they may have to find a team that is up against the cap.
If you’re looking for a forward, how about 27-year-old Andrew Copp? His cap hit last season was $3.64 million and he split time between the Winnipeg Jets and New York Rangers. He was very good for the Rangers in the playoffs.
In goal, it's crickets in the free-agent market. If Adams is going to upgrade, it must be done through trade.
While talking to Adams, he made it official that qualifying offers had been sent to his four restricted free agents, Victor Olofsson, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Arttu Ruotsalainen, and Brett Murray.
He also told me that he’s very interested in bringing back defenseman Lawrence Pilut, but he has to wait to get the proper documentation from his KHL team that his contract has been terminated.
Buffalo retains his right for another year. Pilut played 46 games in Buffalo and another 67 in Rochester before leaving for the KHL for two seasons.
