What do the recent moves by the Buffalo Sabres mean for their future?

The Buffalo Sabres have started to build their team moving forward, but fans are already questioning some of the decisions made by GM Kevyn Adams.

The Buffalo Sabres knew how important of an offseason this was for the franchise as they, yet again, welcomed a new General Manager into the fold — their third since Darcy Regier left in November of 2013.

With players like Jack Eichel, Rasmus Dahlin, Jeff Skinner, Sam Reinhart, Henri Jokiharju, and Victor Olofsson, it’s clear this team has the talent to build around. Adding in prospects like Dylan Cozens, Casey Mittelstadt, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Matej Pekar, Ryan Johnson, Mattias Samuelsson, and more to the fold only bodes well moving forward.

Of course, the number one question heading into this offseason is how new GM Kevyn Adams would find a way to build a team that could not only win now, but also continue building for the future.

With the NHL Draft now behind us and free agency looming, I like what we’ve seen from Adams and continue to grow more excitement for this team’s future each day. I know it’s difficult for fans to feel that vibe, especially after nine miserable seasons, but what we’re seeing this offseason is promising.

Kevyn Adams starts to mark his territory

Prior to the NHL Draft, Kevyn Adams made three significant moves to the Sabres’ roster that helped fortify a few of their holes at forward.

First, they gave up Marcus Johansson to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for Eric Staal, a proven veteran that still has some pep in his step. Not only will he prove to be a reliable second-line center and produce right away, but he’ll be an excellent addition to the locker room and a valuable mentor to the young talent.

Second, they signed 25-year old forward Curtis Lazar to a two-year, $1.6 million deal with an AAV of $800,000. He was signed as a free agent last offseason and spent 18 games in the AHL before earning consistent time in the NHL.

Although Lazar was utilized as a winger and center last season, I expect him to fill in as the fourth-line center (if not the third, though I think the Sabres can find someone via trade or free agency that would fit better in the third-line). He’ll prove to be a valuable piece in Ralph Krueger’s offense next season, allowing Dylan Cozens to acclimate himself to the NHL properly.

Third, they signed 22-year old forward Tage Thompson to a three-year contract that holds an AAV of $1.4 million. It was an excellent signing that gives the young stud a few more years under Krueger to reach his full potential. I see him starting to find production on the third or fourth line, possibly with Curtis Lazar.

What I like most about this signing is it’s a win-win situation for the Sabres. If he ends up producing well this season, he’ll be a cheap piece to this offense. If it doesn’t pan out, the 6’6” winger is still young and can find a home elsewhere. Another team with cap space won’t mind the $1.4 million and the Sabres wouldn’t lose much.

Those three moves — Eric Staal, Curtis Lazar, and Tage Thompson — were a great way for this new GM to start his new career. That’s not to mention the flurry of moves he made with the Rochester Americans before all this went down.

For those that don’t remember, the Americans hired Seth Appert as their new head coach, as well as Adam Mair and Mike Weber as assistant coaches. They also signed Micheal Houser and Ryan Jones to one-year deals, while losing Pascal Aquin to the Laval Rocket.

In the midst of all that, Matt Ellis was named the Sabres’ Director of Player Development.

Then the NHL Draft came along

I know this might sting a lot of Buffalo Sabres’ fans because of who was left on the board at No. 8, but the Buffalo Sabres ended up with an excellent match when they selected Jack Quinn in the NHL Draft. It was a move very few were expecting (including myself), but one I’m starting to like more and more everyday.

Don’t get me wrong, Marco Rossi would’ve been nice, but that ship has sailed. We can sit here and question Kevyn Adams’ decision all we want, but it doesn’t change the fact that they’ve got their guy.

It’s like staring into your refrigerator waiting for your favorite food to appear — except with that situation, you can always go to the grocery store and grab what you want. Well, maybe that’s the lesson here: Kevyn Adams was at the grocery store. He got what he wanted.

I’m not going to act like I don’t gag when I see people buying seafood at the grocery store. It’s not for me and I would choose something different. (I know, another hot take, can’t stand seafood. I hate avocados and any type of pie, too)

Enough about food. The point is, I was all-in on Jack Quinn the moment Buffalo selected him. Sure, he wasn’t my first pick, but he was Kevyn Adams’ first pick and I’m going to trust his process.

Before the draft started, I also had a gut feeling that the Sabres would end up with two first round draft picks. I thought if they could pull it off, it would be a big-boy baller move by Adams.

It nearly came true when the Sabres were in talks with the Predators to send the No. 8 to Nashville in exchange for the 11th pick and 37th pick. The Sabres already owned the 38th pick — which would’ve given them 11, 37, 38, and 100.

Instead, that deal fell through and the Sabres ended up selecting Jack Quinn at No. 8 and trading up in the second round to select J-J Peterka. It’s still a solid two picks, but it seems like they could’ve done better had things gone their way with that trade.

Can you imagine if they were able to swing both trades? They would’ve had 11, 34, and 37. That would’ve done much more for their future, but I’ll take what we got.

Here’s how Kevyn Adams finished rounds 5-7 of the draft, after no picks in the 3rd or 4th round:

• Matteo Costantini (C) was drafted in the 5th round with the 131st overall pick out of Buffalo Jr. Sabres (OJHL)
• Albert Lyckåsen (D) was drafted in the 7th round with the 193rd overall pick out of Linkoping Jr. (Sweden-Jr.)
• Jakub Konecny (C) was drafted in the 7th round with the 216th overall pick out of Sparta Jr. (Czech-Jr.)

Overall, there were five draft picks announced as the Buffalo Sabres’ 2020 NHL Draft class and it’ll be fun to see how they develop over the next few years. I would imagine seeing both Quinn and Peterka in a few years, 2-3 max.

Some confusion with the RFAs

The NHL Draft didn’t exactly go how many fans would’ve liked, but it’s the draft we have to accept. On the other hand, I will admit the Sabres took it a step too far on draft day when they announced which players were receiving qualifying offers.

Jonas Johansson was the first one announced, but it was an extension rather than a qualifying offer. He was extended one year for $700,000. He’ll get quality time behind the net with Rochester this season and might have a few games in the NHL.

All-in-all, qualifying offers were sent to six players — Sam Reinhart, Victor Olofsson, Linus Ullmark, Brandon Montour, Casey Mittelstadt, and Lawrence Pilut — which is great. Those needed to happen and it was the right move.

Unfortunately, 6-game standout Dominik Kahun wasn’t on that list and we later learned that it was because Buffalo was unwilling to pay him what he deserves. 

Now, I totally understand if they were having difficulty making the term of the contract work, especially with the young forwards the Sabres have coming up in a few years, but still. Dominik Kahun is what we need right now and that has to matter, too.

If the Buffalo Sabres can’t come to a deal with Kahun and he ends up signing elsewhere, I’m not sure I can excuse this move — though again, we’ll have to live with it. You can hear more of my thoughts on this debacle here.

What’s next for the Sabres?

With the free agency period now underway, the Buffalo Sabres are expected to start making some moves. We’ve already seen them re-sign Zemgus Girgensons to a three-year contract. He’ll be a valuable piece to the bottom-six, but they’ll need him to produce.

Here’s what his contract looks like the next three years:

3 year contract / $2,200,000 AAV

2020-21: $2,000,000

2021-22: $2,200,000

2022-23: $2,400,000

In 69 games played with the Sabres last season, he only recorded 12 goals and 7 assists. He can easily be a 20-goal scorer and that’s what they should expect from him moving forward.

The Sabres announced the signing of Girgensons (officially) on the morning of the start of free agency. After that, fans were left scrambling most of the afternoon wondering when Kevyn Adams was going to start making moves. As always, there was no sense of urgency from this front office.

So, we had a little fun with it on Twitter:

All jokes aside, the Buffalo Sabres finally announced the signing of Tobias Rieder around 3:00PM ET. He’s a forward that has spent the past 7 years in the NHL. It’s his fifth team in four years and has struggled to make an impact anywhere he’s been.

Last season with Calgary, he finished with 4 goals and 6 assists in 55 games.

If he can get back to his playmaking ways, it could be a good, cheap signing at just one-year, $700,000. Unfortunately, his playmaking days were his first three years in the league where he totaled 43 goals and 49 assists with Arizona. He has 16 goals and 30 assists in the 4 years since.

Not only that, but it’s hard to find the fit in this system at winger. He doesn’t really fit at center and it’s hard to imagine this was the best option for the Sabres.

A couple hours later, around 5:00PM ET, the Buffalo Sabres announced another signing — this time a defenseman. Matt Irwin was yet another one-year, $700,000 signing that could prove to be a valuable depth piece. He has more experience than Rieder, including playoff experience, which is needed on a young team like Buffalo.

Buffalo ended the day with one more cheap signing, announcing the addition of defenseman Brandon Davidson. It’s also another one-year, $700,000 contract — the third one of the day. It’s good for depth and can help build loyalty with these players, should they turn out well.

At the same time, it doesn’t do much at the top of the roster and shows that the Sabres still have a lot of work to be done — including a goalie!

It was only four signings on Day 1 of free agency, three of whom are new faces. There’s plenty more work to be done and I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a trade here in the near future. Overall, the Sabres are starting to take shape.

We won’t truly know how uniform that shape is until the start of 2021, but at least there’s movement.

We really hope you enjoyed this blog about our beloved Buffalo Sabres. We look forward to continuing the conversation with the best fans in the world down below in the comments section.