Welcome to Part II of our Offseason Recap! Be sure to check out Part I if you haven't already; we covered the Granato signing, Trades, and the NHL Draft!
Free Agency
Before we get to the UFA signings, let's touch on this curious move by Adams to start free agency.
New Jersey Receives: Future Considerations
Buffalo Receives: Will Butcher + 2022 5th Round Pick
While preparing for their own rebuild, Arizona was making a ton of moves weaponizing their cap space in order to acquire picks and gain draft capital. I had been waiting for the Sabres to do something similar to this since they had a ton of cap space as well. While this wasn't a haul like the tons of 1st and 2nd round picks the Coyotes were receiving, it's still a solid trade in my opinion. The Sabres are able get a 5th round pick and a decent player in Butcher for essentially nothing.
The most appealing part of this trade is obviously Butcher. Infamously spurning the Sabres and signing with the Devils after college, he has had an interesting career to this point. An outstanding rookie campaign helped Taylor Hall and the Devils qualify for the postseason in 2017-18, with 41 points in 81 games. The 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons on saw some regression, but he still remained relatively solid.
However, this season was the first where Butcher really struggled. He found himself in the doghouse of new head coach Lindy Ruff pretty early on. He was scratched for a number of games and was never able to really find his game in Ruff's system.
What can also possibly explain these poor numbers are the most common partners Butcher played with. The top three he spent the most time with were Conor Carrick, Sami Vatanen, and PK Subban; all three of which are heavily struggling on the defensive side of the ice. Being an offensive-minded defenseman himself and being paired with others with deficiencies much like his, I don't think it's a coincidence his numbers dropped vastly last season.
It's also important to mention that he's been fighting lingering injuries for the past two seasons as well, most significantly recovering from ruptured right thumb ligaments that he had surgery on last year.
This is a low-risk, high-reward move for Adams that I really like. If Butcher can get close to rookie form, the Sabres have found themselves an impactful defensemen they can keep around; and if not, he's a UFA that they can let go next year.
UFA's
This year's free agency obviously didn't have that emotional high that was signing Taylor Hall, but that's not to say that there isn't some intrigue to some of the players that Buffalo picked up. I think you could even argue their moves this year were better than the ones last.
Drake Caggiula: 1-year, $750K
First on the list, was the resigning of Drake Caggiula. While not technically a free agency move since it was done the day prior, I'm still gonna count it. Caggiula didn't really get to show all that much to the team last season. After being claimed on waivers by Buffalo in April, he was only able to play 11 games, where he scored 2 goals and netting 1 assist.
With the construction of the roster this season, Caggiula will definitely get more of an extended look to show what he's got under Granato. As it was pointed out when he was claimed off of waivers last season, Caggiula had played under Granato in Chicago, with Donny being a big fan of his. Hopefully, he can fit into a nice bottom-six role and as a solid PK option.
Mark Pysyk: 1-year, $900K
Pysyk may be the most underrated pickup by Adams. He's not the type of defenseman that's ever going to blow you away, but he does every little thing right on the backend. Being the oldest defenseman on the roster, his low-key style of play can help perfectly stabilize a young and agile unit.
His overall solid impacts all-around should help stop the team from getting shelled every single night. I really hope that they have Pysyk paired up with Butcher for the bulk of the year. I feel that his low-risk style of play will mesh perfectly with Butcher's more offensively-oriented game and help him rebound to the player he once was. Bryson could also probably be a really good fit as well for the same reasons.
No matter what, I can't wait to see what the additions of him and Butcher can bring to the defense this season.
Vinnie Hinostroza: 1-year, $1.05 million
Now for Hinostroza. The quick and skilled winger has been a bit of a journeyman throughout his career, usually finding himself in a middle-six role. He's probably the only forward signed that will be a regular this year due to the versatility he brings to the lineup.
Hinostroza's transition numbers have always been really good, and his ability to carry the the puck in and out of zones smoothly has always been there, so I am in the crowd that wonders if he gets a look at center for awhile this season, considering the lack of depth the Sabres have right now.
Aaron Dell: 1-year, $750K
Having been the backup goaltender for the San Jose Sharks dating back to 2016, until he was claimed on waivers earlier this season by the New Jersey Devil, he's struggled pretty heavily lately, putting up .886, .907, and .857 save percentages over the last 3 seasons.
I think there's going to be an even split among the Sabres goaltenders this year, so this would mean Dell isn't going to be relied on to be a starter. Plus, the Sabres defensive unit could arguably be the best he's played on in a while if it plays up to its potential, so his workload shouldn't be too bad. He might even spend some time up and down between Buffalo and Rochester, so he's won't be one to worry all that much about. Should be interesting to monitor.
Craig Anderson: 1-year, $750K
Next is Anderson. What makes this so interesting is that, believe it or not, Craig Anderson had retired earlier this offseason after his latest run with the Washington Capitals. He was all ready to hang up the skates. However, Adams was seemingly able to coax him out of retirement by providing him with the idea that he could take on a mentor role this season, presumably with Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen.
He's 41, so obviously he won't probably play more than 30ish games, but he'll get a a decent amount of work. Most importantly, as we said, he's being brought in to be a mentor to UPL as he gets his feet wet in the league. This is very forward thinking by the Sabres, a perfect type of move for this season.
It'll be interesting to see how much Anderson still has in the tank. To summarize, he was one of the better goalies in the in the 1st round of the playoffs. Sure, two games is a very small sample size, but he performed very well against a Bruins team that dominated the Caps almost the whole series. Given small stints here and there and not consecutive starts the whole season, Anderson could be able to give the young Sabres squad quality goaltending.
One of the more shocking moves for the Sabres was failing to sign Linus Ullmark to an extension. Talks with Linus continued all the way until the last minute right before free agency started, but Adams was unfortunately not able to get him signed on the dotted line. Linus went on to sign a 4-year deal with the Boston Bruins for $5 million per year.
Along with the release of Carter Hutton, the Sabres were now in need of some goaltenders to fill the slots this season. Ukko-Pekka Lukkonen was obviously not going to start 50+ games a year, and even if he was, he needed a backup to carry those other 30+ games. Adams is now looking to veterans Aaron Dell and Craig Anderson to help fill this role.
With these three together, it seems that rather than a definite duo, the Sabres are planning to go with a trio of goalies this season. Maybe Tokarski and Houser play a few games as well. It won't be a carousel like last year, but with this good mix of goaltenders in there, hopefully one sticks (preferably UPL).
RFA's
To wrap this up, we'll go over the RFA's the Sabres signed over the past month, and touch on Eichel a little bit at the end.
Casey Fitzgerald: 2-years, $750K
A name that some fans may not know, Fitzgerald has spent the last two and a half years in Rochester. The 24-year old defenseman has had some decent production in the AHL with 22 points in 51 games, so he'll likely be a decent depth piece in an organization with a lack of right-handed defensemen. Cheap deal for a low-end player.
Rasmus Asplund: 2-years, $825K
One of the nice surprises of last season, Asplund found a really nice role alongside Casey Mittelstadt and Tage Thompson. His speedy forechecking and solid defense perfectly balanced the other two's play styles that lacked defense. Playing alongside those two gave him a big boost in production as well. 7 goals and 4 assists in 28 games is great for the role he played. It is important to mention he shot 20.6% this season which obviously won't be sustainable in the future, but his chemistry with Mittelstadt and Thompson was undeniable .
Asplund's most common offensive hotspot is within a stick-length of the net, which is great. It's refreshing to see a Sabres player actually consistently drive the net for once. His solid defense is reflected as well, as most shot hotspots while he's on the ice come from the point; hardly any from the slot.
Getting him under contract at just $825K is a good deal if he continues his trajectory as a reliable defensive winger.
Henri Jokijarhu: 3-years, $2.5 million
Something that I think went unnoticed in Ralph Krueger's last days as Sabres head coach was just how lost Henri Jokiharju looked to be. It's easy to see why it wasn't brought up, what with the struggles of Jack Eichel, Taylor Hall, Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner, Eric Staal, etc. all being at the forefront of the conversation, but it was really ugly for awhile there.
Jokiharju would often find himself up in the press box on certain nights, not even being able to crack the lineup of a struggling defense. For a player that had so much upside when he first arrived, it seemed as if his development had been seriously stunted. However, just like with many other guys, Granato was able to get him back on the right path.
When Granato took over as interim head coach, Jokiharju was immediately placed next to Dahlin on the top pair. For the rest of the season, him and Dahlin showed constant signs of life and consistently impacted the Sabres every night.
Joki's numbers for the whole season don't look too pretty, but that's because a bulk of these numbers have to do with his time under Krueger. Anyone that watched him the second half of the season knows that he was much better than this would imply, so I would hope to see a big boost in numbers after next year.
3 years at $2.5 million seems like a very fair deal for the Sabres. If Joki continues to play like he did at the end of last season, then they've got a potential top pairing defensman for under $3 million, which is an absolute steal. If he shows that he's more so the defenseman that was during Krueger's time, then it's a cheap contract for a short-term; it's a win-win for both sides.
I think he's going to excel this season and continue to show off his chemistry with Dahlin, proving that they can be a legitimate top pair in this league.
Casey Mittelstadt: 3-years, $2.5 million
Different player, same contract. Mittelstadt turned a lot of heads this season, having himself a fine bounce back year. Starting the season with rumors of being traded for as little as a 3rd rounder and being placed on the taxi squad, many were ready to give up on the former 8th overall pick.
However, much to everyone's surprise, he rebounded big. In 41 total games, he potted 10 goals and 12 assists, ending the season by scoring 17 of his points in his last 22 games.
Still a long way to go, but it's an improvement over the past. A personal observation on his play, one of the things that made Mittelstadt better this season was him realizing that his shot might be the best asset. You can see that his finishing did fairly well, and the increase in shooting definitely had to do with this.
Just like with Joki, if Mitts can continue to develop into something close to the player he seemed last season, then we got a steal of a contract. This year should be interesting with him and Cozens both fighting for the first line center spot; can't wait to watch them.
Rasmus Dahlin: 3-years, $6 million
The last of the RFA's to be signed, Dahlin's contract is definitely one for debate. While it seemed that at the beginning of negotiations the Sabres' camp wanted to go long-term, the team and Dahlin's camp settled on a bridge deal. Let's break it down.
In mid-March of last season, Dahlin looked like he had completely forgotten how to play hockey. He was hardly generating any offense and his defense was down right atrocious. Blown coverages, bad turnovers, getting walked from the time to time; it seemed like the Sabres were once again ruining the development of a young player, and this was the one they could't afford. You can argue how much of the defensive inefficiencies were Krueger's fault, but there was no doubt that Dahlin's confidence had been shattered by the play-style.
However, that's where Granato comes in. When Krueger was finally let go, Granato immediately took the pressure off the kid's shoulders by just letting play his own game. Instead of forcing him to focus on being a shutdown defenseman (something he isn't and likely never will be), he gave him the complete freedom to drive play as much as he pleased. With that vote of confidence, we got to see an old friend... rookie Rasmus Dahlin.
The advanced numbers backed-up the eye test, Dahlin was a much better player under Granato than Krueger. With this resurgence, it was widely supported for Dahlin to receive his big long-term extension. The Sabres reportedly felt the same way at first, with it sounding like their initial offers were in the long-term range, but obviously falling short somehow.
What I think could've affected Dahlin's ask was the inflation of the defensive market this offseason. There were TONS of huge contracts being handed out to defensemen (Heiskanen 8x8, Jones 8x9.5, Werenski 6x9.5, Nurse 8x9.25) which most likely led to Dahlin's ask being higher than it was initially. Adams' first offers may have seemed strong, but when all these contracts were signed it may have led to a price raise.
One angle to view this bridge from is by asking yourself, wouldn't you rather pay Dahlin at $10 million long-term knowing he's a franchise player, then paying him $8 million long-term now guessing he's gonna be one?
No matter the cause, Dahlin and the Sabres came together on the bridge deal. While I think it's a little rich for a bridge, I have complete confidence in Dahlin that he's going to be earning this money by the end of this season.
Jack Eichel
It would be wrong to talk about the offseason without addressing the Jack Eichel situation at least a little.
He's still here and that's not a good thing. Teams still aren't willing to give up that big piece Adams is searching for, and Jack's camp isn't getting any more complacent. Kevyn has kept his price high, which is commendable, but no team has bit just yet and it's been frustrating for everyone.
Day by day it just keeps getting more and more toxic on both sides. To this point Eichel still hasn't gotten surgery, whether that be his desired disk replacement procedure or the Sabres' desired fusion surgery. Even if he is moved, it looks like the recovery could take until next year with Jack possibly even missing the Olympics, which would really suck.
Just like everyone predicted, Jack recently failed his physical at training camp which was then proceeded by Adams stripping him of the captaincy. Just an ugly situation overall. The fanbase has been split in half with one side defending Jack's rights and the other justifying why the Sabres would try to wait it out as long as possible.
I'm not going to dwell on it too much because I feel like that's been done plenty enough. My opinion won't add anything and is nothing that hasn't already been said. All I'll say is that the sooner that he's moved, and we can all collectively move on from this saga, the better.
No matter what side you are on, I think we can all agree that the longer he stays, the more distracting it becomes from the actual team. Let's hope Adams can find a deal that benefits both sides quick so we can focus on the future.
Final Summary
I'd give the Sabres a B grade for this offseason. If this team were looking to contend the grade would obviously be lower, but since this was all in preparation for a rebuild, I'd say that they did a fine enough job.
The hiring of Granato, while expected, was still a positive move for the franchise moving forward. I think Adams and co. knocked it out of the park with the draft and the Rasmus Ristolainen trade. The Reinhart deal was less than ideal, but their hands were kind of tied in the RFA market. Free Agency had some solid additions and all the RFA contracts were team-friendly that made sense for both the team and player.
An overall solid offseason that has set the foundation for the future of the franchise. I feel that for the first time in forever, there is a vision for the whole organization and a culture being built. You might even call it.... a process. I can't wait to see where it can take us.
Until then, Go Sabres.
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