Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power are shoo-ins to sign lucrative, long-term contracts with the Buffalo Sabres. But a few more will stick around long-term.
Here is the score – you can’t sign everyone to lucrative contracts, but you can sign quite a few role players to sensible deals. That said, there are some on the Buffalo Sabres roster who will wind up staying for a few more seasons than you may expect.
No, you aren’t going to like the names on this list. But every decent team in the major North American pro sports leagues has players like these. Players whose respective performances are rarely elite, but they play well in a role, or a niche, that motivates their respective franchises to keep them around for a bargain price.
Not that these signings will happen anytime soon, but don’t be surprised when they do. Let’s meet the following players.
3 Buffalo Sabres who will eventually stick around longer than you think
1 – Casey Mittelstadt
Of the three players listed, Casey Mittelstadt could wind up signing a long-term deal for a nice sum of cash. No, it won’t be anywhere near what Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens signed, unless he came out and just dominated in the 2023-24 season’s early going, but it will be enough to keep him around for another four to five years.
Mittelstadt will also be an RFA following 2023-24, making it easier for the Blue and Gold to bring him back if they want him to stay. And at this point, they are showing every indication that they do.
2 – Henri Jokiharju
I know, Henri Jokiharju saw his respective struggles this season and showed little growth since he joined the Buffalo Sabres a few years back. But just as Mittelstadt found his niche this past season, what’s not to say Jokiharju doesn’t do the same if he’s bumped to the third pairing?
At this point, I’m not ruling out Jokiharju sticking around long-term. And like my projection with Mittelstadt, he’s not going to sign anything close to what Dahlin and Power will get. But also like what I said regarding Mittelstadt, it will be enough to keep him in the Queen City.
3 – Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
As is the case with Mittelstadt and Jokiharju, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen will also be an RFA following the season, and he appears to be the front runner to snag what could be the 1B role with the Buffalo Sabres. Given his young age and the flashes he’s shown this past season, everyone, from the front office to the fanbase, should want to see Luukkonen improve to the point they can trust him to be Devon Levi’s primary backup long-term.
This would give the unit more stability than it’s seen since Ryan Miller left. And that would be refreshing for a team that had more turnover at goaltender than most of the NHL over the past decade.
No, Luukkonen’s deal won’t be lucrative. But it will be enough to keep him in town, and to keep the Buffalo Sabres from investing an overly large amount of cap space into their primary backup position.
Source: Sabres mailbag, part 1: Who is next to break out like Tage Thompson, Dylan Cozens? by Matthew Fairburn, TheAthletic.com
(Contract data provided by Cap-Friendly)