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Buffalo Sabres free agency hunting: Valeri Nichushkin

By Zach Jezioro

TAMPA, FLORIDA - JUNE 26: Valeri Nichushkin #13 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the Stanley Cup in celebration after Game Six of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on June 26, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. The Avalanche defeated the Lightning 2-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FLORIDA - JUNE 26: Valeri Nichushkin #13 of the Colorado Avalanche lifts the Stanley Cup in celebration after Game Six of the 2022 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on June 26, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. The Avalanche defeated the Lightning 2-1. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
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Should the Buffalo Sabres sign Valeri Nichushkin? Today, I will explain why Colorado’s right winger would make a good fit in the Queen City.

Another player the Buffalo Sabres should try to sign is Valeri Nichushkin. Just like his teammate André Burakovsky, he is a Stanley Cup champion after winning it with the Colorado Avalanche. Like we talked about with Burakovsky, Nichushkin would make a great addition to Buffalo’s top six.

According to Hockey Reference, Nichushkin scored 25 goals and registered 27 assists in 62 games played with Colorado this previous season. In the postseason, the 2013 first round pick scored 9 goals and got 6 assists in 20 games played so he had not only a good regular season but a great postseason as well.

Why Valeri Nichushkin would be a good fit for the Buffalo Sabres

The 2021-2022 season was a breakout season for Nichushkin. As mentioned before, he set a new high for goals with 25, breaking his 14 goal season during his rookie year with the Dallas Stars in 2013-2014. The other reason why Buffalo should make a run at signing him is because he’s a big body.

The Russian forward is 6’4″ and 210 pounds, so it would be a great addition to Buffalo’s roster. He is also relatively young at 27 years old, so with the young talent Buffalo has, he would be a good mentor guy for a few of the players.

The only concern when looking at his stats are the number of goals. He did have a breakout season but before this year, his totals were decent but weren’t eye popping. Let’s face it, Colorado has a stacked roster. This is no disrespect towards Nichushkin, but it’s something to think about if you’re general manager Kevyn Adams.

With that being said, if you look at the Sabres roster currently, Nichushkin could produce well if Buffalo was to sign him. So let’s say he signs. When it comes to length, it’s possible he could get a 4 or 5 year deal but 3 years seems more appropriate. These are just guesses obviously but we’ll see what kind of deal he gets wherever he ends up.

More. Signing Kris Letang might make sense. light

As we’ve said countless times, Buffalo has money to spend and Nichushkin could be another possible signing in a very loaded free agency pool.

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)

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