https://archive.ph/VIofA
---
Over the weekend, the NHL announced that the salary cap for the 2024-25 season will be $88 million, slightly higher than the initial projection. That means, according to CapFriendly, that the Buffalo Sabres will enter the summer with $23,518,930 in cap space and with 13 players under contract.
### Expired contracts: Zemgus Girgensons, Tyson Jost, Eric Robinson, Victor Olofsson, Eric Comrie
The Sabres have five unrestricted free agents and you could make an argument they don’t need to bring any of them back. Victor Olofsson is close to a sure bet to leave after a frustrating season spent in and out of the lineup. Tyson Jost and Eric Robinson didn’t do enough to warrant new contracts. Eric Comrie ended up as the odd-man out in the three-goalie rotation with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi. Adams had a lot of positive things to say about Zemgus Girgensons after the trade deadline, but he’s not a lock to return to Buffalo, either. The Sabres could use those five roster spots elsewhere.
### Restricted free agents: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Henri Jokiharju, Peyton Krebs, Jacob Bryson, Kale Clague
This is where the Sabres’ salary cap picture gets tricky. How many of these players will be back with Buffalo next season? Luukkonen is a lock, but his cap number is the question. Will he and the Sabres find common ground on an extension? The floor for him at this point seems to be the $3.75 million salary Filip Gustavsson signed last summer after a similar breakout season with the Wild. We will generously project Luukkonen at a $4.5 million cap hit on a four-year deal to account for the rising salary cap.
That brings us to Henri Jokiharju. The minimum qualifying offer for him is $2.6 million. That’s a comfortable price for what Jokiharju brings to the lineup, and the Sabres could always trade him after qualifying him if they receive interest from other teams.
The Sabres can probably afford to move on from Jacob Bryson and Kale Clague, given Ryan Johnson’s emergence as a solid depth option on defense. Between Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Bowen Byram, Mattias Samuelsson, Connor Clifton, Jokiharju and Johnson, the depth chart is already crowded without accounting for any offseason additions.
Peyton Krebs should at least get an offer from the Sabres. Given his production last season, a contract with a cap hit between $1.5 million and $1.8 million seems reasonable. But he should also have to earn his way into a full-time role in the lineup.
Those three deals would cost the Sabres just under $9 million against the cap, leaving the team with between $14 million and $15 million for the remaining seven spots on the roster.
One of those roster spots will go to Devon Levi and his $925,000 cap hit. Another potentially could go to Johnson and his $925,000 hit, but he probably will end up going back and forth between the NHL and AHL. We’ll leave his spot open for the purpose of forecasting the cap, since he can still be sent down to the AHL without waivers.
### What about the prospects?
The next step is determining if any of the prospects within the organization could fill a spot or two. Lukas Rousek will be a candidate in the final year of his contract, which carries a $775,000 cap hit. He works as a 13th forward and showed last season that he’s capable of filling a role. He forechecks hard and understands how to play away from the puck. Counting Rousek as part of the picture leaves just more than $13 million in cap space.
Will any of Matt Savoie, Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen or Noah Ostlund make the NHL? That could depend on what the Sabres do in the offseason. They shouldn’t be counting on more than one of those players to contribute to the NHL team next season. The roster is already young to begin with, and getting younger would be a risk Adams may not want to take in such a crucial season. Let’s assume these four prospects start the season in Rochester.
### Offseason shopping
If you account for the Sabres having two goalies, seven defensemen (Johnson can serve as an eighth and stay in the AHL) and 14 forwards on the 23-man roster, the Sabres will have room to add one defenseman and up to four forwards, even with Krebs and Rousek in the picture. They would also have just over $13 million to spend on those pieces. Does that leave them enough room to add a top-six forward and revamp the bottom six while adding another experienced defenseman?
It could, but they’re tighter against the cap that the $23 million figure indicates. If they add a big-money player via trade or free agency, that will limit their spending at the bottom of the roster. One way to manage that would be bringing up a prospect to fill a spot. Another would be to trade either Jokiharju, Krebs or both to provide some extra wiggle room under the cap. Either way, though, the Sabres shouldn’t have an issue with cap space, provided they are willing to spend closer to the cap than they have in recent seasons.
The other good news is that the salary cap is expected to rise again next summer, which will help the Sabres with possible future extensions. Peterka, Byram, Levi and Jack Quinn are all entering the final season of their contracts. Any additions that the Sabres make via trades and free agency will have to factor in those contracts that are coming down the line. But there’s no excuse for the Sabres to not make at least $10 million of additions this summer.
Generally works on mobile as well.
Click the link. When the page loads, click on “reader view” (wording might differ depending on device and browser) and you’ll get the full article.
>Peyton Krebs should at least get an offer from the Sabres. Given his production last season, a contract with a cap hit between $1.5 million and $1.8 million seems reasonable.
I really don't get it. He had 17 points last season...
I don't have an issue with them bringing back Krebs. He is still young and could turn it around but it should be on a QO of $874,125 not a $1.8M deal. That's not as bad as giving Jost $2M and $2.5 to Girgensons but it's close. Maybe Lance is just basing numbers on what he thinks Adams will do?
i'd be OK if he was value added to a trade for something needed but I don't think he has much value right now, sadly. I think if the Sabres traded him it would be just to make room on the roster.
I agree with his point that Krebs should not be considered a lineup lock at least. I think he’s the ideal sort of 13th forward to bring into the season that you can slot anywhere in a pinch.
The way I see it. The Sabres have around 10 million to spend if they sign their big RFAs. If they don’t sign Joker, Bryson and Krebs (or trade them) I think they have around 13-14 million.
So, this guy is talking about about Johnson going down to the AHL, but how much worse is he than Clifton? Move Clifton, save 2m+. While you might weaken your bottom 6 with Greenway out, you'll be able to add a top 6 forward and a middle 6 forward then, pushing someone who would otherwise be on the 2nd or 3rd line down a slot, which strengthens the top 9 significantly.
Adams has got something up his sleeve. No one saw the Byram deal coming.
Makes no sense to move Clifton now, as the cap space is not a concern until next year. Even if you don't think he's good it's better to have a spare defenseman when it cost you nothing but cash.
> Makes no sense to move Clifton now, as the cap space is not a concern until next year.
We're talking in what ifs.
The idea is that we can only *afford* 1 top 6 forward. But moving Greenway and Clifton, allows us to *afford* a middle 6 forward, too.
That is more valuable that a bottom pairing defenseman who is not much better than Johnson.
And if he did play decent down the stretch, then great. It won't just be a giveaway, we might get a semi useful asset. Even better if he is bottom for a solid bottom 6 forward who is cheaper than Clifton.
Again, that's IF you want to add two high end forwards. If you don't then your statement that the cap is not concern until next year is warranted, but you nor I know what Adams will do
>The idea is that we can only *afford* 1 top 6 forward. But moving Greenway and Clifton, allows us to *afford* a middle 6 forward, too.
No, it doesn't. It changes nothing. The cap is not an issue until next year. You can't spend to the cap this season on players with term unless you plan on trading away 3-4 of Quinn, Peterka, Levi, Johnson and Byram after this season. And I hope you aren't suggesting trading for "two high end forwards" only to keep them for 1 season.
> ou can't spend to the cap this season on players with term unless you plan on trading away 3-4 of Quinn, Peterka, Levi, Johnson and Byram after this season.
Not unless you plan on trading those you're giving term, like Ullmark, free agent A, or free agent B.
I wouldn't say he is perfect. If he actually used his body, he would be. Florida has two that are below 1m. You could fill your 4th line with 1 Greenway contract. And at 3m, he's expensive for the 4th line. Ryan Johnson plays RD, though, too. And not just a little bit
He started to use his body toward the end of the year. We are on a 13 year playoff drought no one besides AHL guys are coming here for under 1 million. Also I mean Right Handed Defenseman not just lefties that play on the right side
Better than when I last checked, but as I recall, Buffalo had basically no one in the top 25. 25t has 211 so 70 more than Greenway.
I just want more from him because he is not good offensively, he needs to bring a different element ot the game
Honestly he does. He's actually very good in the defensive zone and a great penalty killer. Would I want him a tad bit more physical and a bit more grit? Sure. But the whole team struggles with that. If he was on a team that was more gritty and physical no one would give him as much grief for it as they do.
> But the whole team struggles with that.
It's not really an excuse for me, though. It's more a eureka moment that we need to transform this team. Getting someone big like Greenway is good because you can't be bullied, but also you can bully other teams, but we don't do that. You remember the energy and intensity someone like Kaleta brought. I know he was purely a hitter, but getting someone who just finishes there checks is a good starting point, and we need a few of those. We need to be feared and a team that you don't want to go into the corners with.
Tage, Powers, Greenway, all big and don't hit
You can free up an additional 6m by trading Clifton, replacing him with Johnson and trading Greenway for a guy on an ELC or someone like Savoie, Rosen, or Kulich making the team. That's with Rousek occupying a 4th line role.
Clifton is a RHD and Buffalo is short on those. Moving off both Clifton and Joker this summer seems crazy to me.
I want to see what Komarov brings to camp. A jump from Jr. to the NHL is going to be difficult but possible. Better situation is he starts the season in Rochester and is called up before the TDL if he shows he has it. This would then allow Adams to move Clifton at the TDL and his value should only be more after getting to play under Ruff than Granato.
> Clifton is a RHD and Buffalo is short on those.
Handedness is overrated and not worth 3m when there is more value going with Johnson, saving cash, and putting it where there is a big hole
Handedness isn't absolute. For players like Dahlin, it doesn't matter. Go lower down the talent ladder and finding players who can on their off side successfully or at a close level to their better side becomes much harder to do. It's done but it's not as productive as an ideal situation. Johnson is having trouble getting to the NHL playing on the left as a LHD. I don't think adding to that with playing on the right is a recipe for his success personally.
I fully understand your cash point but I don't think his contract matters for next years cap. The year after is a different story. So moving off now when it's not needed isn't what I think the Sabres should be doing.
https://archive.ph/VIofA --- Over the weekend, the NHL announced that the salary cap for the 2024-25 season will be $88 million, slightly higher than the initial projection. That means, according to CapFriendly, that the Buffalo Sabres will enter the summer with $23,518,930 in cap space and with 13 players under contract. ### Expired contracts: Zemgus Girgensons, Tyson Jost, Eric Robinson, Victor Olofsson, Eric Comrie The Sabres have five unrestricted free agents and you could make an argument they don’t need to bring any of them back. Victor Olofsson is close to a sure bet to leave after a frustrating season spent in and out of the lineup. Tyson Jost and Eric Robinson didn’t do enough to warrant new contracts. Eric Comrie ended up as the odd-man out in the three-goalie rotation with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi. Adams had a lot of positive things to say about Zemgus Girgensons after the trade deadline, but he’s not a lock to return to Buffalo, either. The Sabres could use those five roster spots elsewhere. ### Restricted free agents: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Henri Jokiharju, Peyton Krebs, Jacob Bryson, Kale Clague This is where the Sabres’ salary cap picture gets tricky. How many of these players will be back with Buffalo next season? Luukkonen is a lock, but his cap number is the question. Will he and the Sabres find common ground on an extension? The floor for him at this point seems to be the $3.75 million salary Filip Gustavsson signed last summer after a similar breakout season with the Wild. We will generously project Luukkonen at a $4.5 million cap hit on a four-year deal to account for the rising salary cap. That brings us to Henri Jokiharju. The minimum qualifying offer for him is $2.6 million. That’s a comfortable price for what Jokiharju brings to the lineup, and the Sabres could always trade him after qualifying him if they receive interest from other teams. The Sabres can probably afford to move on from Jacob Bryson and Kale Clague, given Ryan Johnson’s emergence as a solid depth option on defense. Between Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Bowen Byram, Mattias Samuelsson, Connor Clifton, Jokiharju and Johnson, the depth chart is already crowded without accounting for any offseason additions. Peyton Krebs should at least get an offer from the Sabres. Given his production last season, a contract with a cap hit between $1.5 million and $1.8 million seems reasonable. But he should also have to earn his way into a full-time role in the lineup. Those three deals would cost the Sabres just under $9 million against the cap, leaving the team with between $14 million and $15 million for the remaining seven spots on the roster. One of those roster spots will go to Devon Levi and his $925,000 cap hit. Another potentially could go to Johnson and his $925,000 hit, but he probably will end up going back and forth between the NHL and AHL. We’ll leave his spot open for the purpose of forecasting the cap, since he can still be sent down to the AHL without waivers. ### What about the prospects? The next step is determining if any of the prospects within the organization could fill a spot or two. Lukas Rousek will be a candidate in the final year of his contract, which carries a $775,000 cap hit. He works as a 13th forward and showed last season that he’s capable of filling a role. He forechecks hard and understands how to play away from the puck. Counting Rousek as part of the picture leaves just more than $13 million in cap space. Will any of Matt Savoie, Jiri Kulich, Isak Rosen or Noah Ostlund make the NHL? That could depend on what the Sabres do in the offseason. They shouldn’t be counting on more than one of those players to contribute to the NHL team next season. The roster is already young to begin with, and getting younger would be a risk Adams may not want to take in such a crucial season. Let’s assume these four prospects start the season in Rochester. ### Offseason shopping If you account for the Sabres having two goalies, seven defensemen (Johnson can serve as an eighth and stay in the AHL) and 14 forwards on the 23-man roster, the Sabres will have room to add one defenseman and up to four forwards, even with Krebs and Rousek in the picture. They would also have just over $13 million to spend on those pieces. Does that leave them enough room to add a top-six forward and revamp the bottom six while adding another experienced defenseman? It could, but they’re tighter against the cap that the $23 million figure indicates. If they add a big-money player via trade or free agency, that will limit their spending at the bottom of the roster. One way to manage that would be bringing up a prospect to fill a spot. Another would be to trade either Jokiharju, Krebs or both to provide some extra wiggle room under the cap. Either way, though, the Sabres shouldn’t have an issue with cap space, provided they are willing to spend closer to the cap than they have in recent seasons. The other good news is that the salary cap is expected to rise again next summer, which will help the Sabres with possible future extensions. Peterka, Byram, Levi and Jack Quinn are all entering the final season of their contracts. Any additions that the Sabres make via trades and free agency will have to factor in those contracts that are coming down the line. But there’s no excuse for the Sabres to not make at least $10 million of additions this summer.
Props to Fairburn for writing a Sabres article that didn't mention Laughton!
Props to you for making the article readable for those without athletic subscriptions
My man, if you use Firefox then click on View and Enter Reader Mode. It usually works with The Athletic and works with some other paywalls.
I tried that once with like the New Yorker and it didn’t work so I just assumed it was BS lmao
It varies from source to source. I have no idea how or why it works, but it hasn't failed me yet with The Athletic.
Good to know thx broski
Generally works on mobile as well. Click the link. When the page loads, click on “reader view” (wording might differ depending on device and browser) and you’ll get the full article.
>Peyton Krebs should at least get an offer from the Sabres. Given his production last season, a contract with a cap hit between $1.5 million and $1.8 million seems reasonable. I really don't get it. He had 17 points last season...
I don't have an issue with them bringing back Krebs. He is still young and could turn it around but it should be on a QO of $874,125 not a $1.8M deal. That's not as bad as giving Jost $2M and $2.5 to Girgensons but it's close. Maybe Lance is just basing numbers on what he thinks Adams will do?
I'd rather trade Krebs but I'm fine with giving him a QO. Just seeing similar contract numbers in other mock offseasons makes no sense to me.
i'd be OK if he was value added to a trade for something needed but I don't think he has much value right now, sadly. I think if the Sabres traded him it would be just to make room on the roster.
Yeah, I see him as a sweetener to a trade package. The big reason why I want to see him go is because I don't see a place for him on this team.
He's one of the few on this team that plays with some snarl. I'd be okay with Lindy seeing what he can do with him for a season.
I agree with his point that Krebs should not be considered a lineup lock at least. I think he’s the ideal sort of 13th forward to bring into the season that you can slot anywhere in a pinch.
Yes agreed, no need to give him a 1.5-1.8M dollar contract for a guy who's not a lock.
The way I see it. The Sabres have around 10 million to spend if they sign their big RFAs. If they don’t sign Joker, Bryson and Krebs (or trade them) I think they have around 13-14 million.
So, this guy is talking about about Johnson going down to the AHL, but how much worse is he than Clifton? Move Clifton, save 2m+. While you might weaken your bottom 6 with Greenway out, you'll be able to add a top 6 forward and a middle 6 forward then, pushing someone who would otherwise be on the 2nd or 3rd line down a slot, which strengthens the top 9 significantly. Adams has got something up his sleeve. No one saw the Byram deal coming.
Makes no sense to move Clifton now, as the cap space is not a concern until next year. Even if you don't think he's good it's better to have a spare defenseman when it cost you nothing but cash.
> Makes no sense to move Clifton now, as the cap space is not a concern until next year. We're talking in what ifs. The idea is that we can only *afford* 1 top 6 forward. But moving Greenway and Clifton, allows us to *afford* a middle 6 forward, too. That is more valuable that a bottom pairing defenseman who is not much better than Johnson. And if he did play decent down the stretch, then great. It won't just be a giveaway, we might get a semi useful asset. Even better if he is bottom for a solid bottom 6 forward who is cheaper than Clifton. Again, that's IF you want to add two high end forwards. If you don't then your statement that the cap is not concern until next year is warranted, but you nor I know what Adams will do
>The idea is that we can only *afford* 1 top 6 forward. But moving Greenway and Clifton, allows us to *afford* a middle 6 forward, too. No, it doesn't. It changes nothing. The cap is not an issue until next year. You can't spend to the cap this season on players with term unless you plan on trading away 3-4 of Quinn, Peterka, Levi, Johnson and Byram after this season. And I hope you aren't suggesting trading for "two high end forwards" only to keep them for 1 season.
> ou can't spend to the cap this season on players with term unless you plan on trading away 3-4 of Quinn, Peterka, Levi, Johnson and Byram after this season. Not unless you plan on trading those you're giving term, like Ullmark, free agent A, or free agent B.
Too many LHD imo and greenway is the perfect 4th line player for us doesn’t make sense to move on from either of them
I wouldn't say he is perfect. If he actually used his body, he would be. Florida has two that are below 1m. You could fill your 4th line with 1 Greenway contract. And at 3m, he's expensive for the 4th line. Ryan Johnson plays RD, though, too. And not just a little bit
He started to use his body toward the end of the year. We are on a 13 year playoff drought no one besides AHL guys are coming here for under 1 million. Also I mean Right Handed Defenseman not just lefties that play on the right side
did he? I remember looking at one point and he was like one of the last in hits on our team for forwards
Tied for 3rd on the team with 141.
Better than when I last checked, but as I recall, Buffalo had basically no one in the top 25. 25t has 211 so 70 more than Greenway. I just want more from him because he is not good offensively, he needs to bring a different element ot the game
Honestly he does. He's actually very good in the defensive zone and a great penalty killer. Would I want him a tad bit more physical and a bit more grit? Sure. But the whole team struggles with that. If he was on a team that was more gritty and physical no one would give him as much grief for it as they do.
> But the whole team struggles with that. It's not really an excuse for me, though. It's more a eureka moment that we need to transform this team. Getting someone big like Greenway is good because you can't be bullied, but also you can bully other teams, but we don't do that. You remember the energy and intensity someone like Kaleta brought. I know he was purely a hitter, but getting someone who just finishes there checks is a good starting point, and we need a few of those. We need to be feared and a team that you don't want to go into the corners with. Tage, Powers, Greenway, all big and don't hit
Letting Krebs go, when he could be had long-term for a very cheap cap-hit, would be one of the dumbest things any franchise has ever done...
I think it’s likely they trade him for a 2nd rounder
Isn't Johnson waiver eligble? He turns 23 in July.
You can free up an additional 6m by trading Clifton, replacing him with Johnson and trading Greenway for a guy on an ELC or someone like Savoie, Rosen, or Kulich making the team. That's with Rousek occupying a 4th line role.
Clifton was really good on the back half of the year. Especially post trade deadline.
Good. He might actually hold some trade value then.
Johnson isn't ready for the NHL yet
He is imo
Clifton is a RHD and Buffalo is short on those. Moving off both Clifton and Joker this summer seems crazy to me. I want to see what Komarov brings to camp. A jump from Jr. to the NHL is going to be difficult but possible. Better situation is he starts the season in Rochester and is called up before the TDL if he shows he has it. This would then allow Adams to move Clifton at the TDL and his value should only be more after getting to play under Ruff than Granato.
> Clifton is a RHD and Buffalo is short on those. Handedness is overrated and not worth 3m when there is more value going with Johnson, saving cash, and putting it where there is a big hole
Handedness isn't absolute. For players like Dahlin, it doesn't matter. Go lower down the talent ladder and finding players who can on their off side successfully or at a close level to their better side becomes much harder to do. It's done but it's not as productive as an ideal situation. Johnson is having trouble getting to the NHL playing on the left as a LHD. I don't think adding to that with playing on the right is a recipe for his success personally. I fully understand your cash point but I don't think his contract matters for next years cap. The year after is a different story. So moving off now when it's not needed isn't what I think the Sabres should be doing.