At roughly the midpoint of the offseason, with free agency about a month old and training camps a little over a month away, NHL teams largely have their rosters set. The moves have slowed down significantly as there are not many roster spots left available for players.
This is not usually good news for those players still searching for a team and typically means they are taking shorter-term contracts or even Professional Tryout deals to hopefully build back their value. When looking at the players still available, these are four former Buffalo Sabres that fall into this category.
Logan Stanley
The fact that Logan Stanley doesn't have a new team is a little surprising at this point, even if he didn't look great with the Sabres after the midseason trade. He is a big, physical defenseman at 6'7" and is still early in his career at 28 years old.
Stanley has 278 career regular-season games and even showed some offensive skill last season with Winnipeg, with nine goals in 59 games, which was more than his career total entering the season. It is only a matter of time before Stanley gets a new deal, but it is tough to pinpoint exactly where and probably not at the contract he was expecting.
Jeff Skinner
The last time Jeff Skinner played for the Buffalo Sabres was during the 2023-24 season, when he had 24 goals and 22 assists. After that season, the Sabres elected to buy out Skinner, and this season he is still counting for over $6 million against their salary cap.
After the Sabres, Skinner would sign a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers and had 16 goals and 13 assists. This past season, he played for the San Jose Sharks and had 13 points in 32 games, but was waived during the season after losing his spot in the lineup.
At 34 years old, Skinner is not going to be the player he was with the Sabres, but could still be productive in the right situation. He is a player who is probably a prime candidate for a Professional Tryout, and it wouldn't be at all surprising to see him earn a roster spot somewhere.
Evander Kane
The Buffalo Sabres traded Evander Kane during the 2017-18 season, and he has had stops with the San Jose Sharks, Edmonton Oilers, and recently, last season with the Vancouver Canucks. While Kane did finish with 31 points in 71 games, he also had a +/- of -20, which probably is one of the reasons teams have stayed away, as his defensive weaknesses are starting to outweigh the offensive production.
In the right situation, Evander Kane probably could help an offense but similar to Jeff Skinner, teams are probably not willing to commit more than a PTO at this point in his career.
James Reimer
James Reimer had a one-year stop with the Sabres for the 2024-25 season and started 19 games for them with a 10-8-2 record. After the Sabres, Reimer joined the Ottawa Senators as their backup and made 13 starts with a 7-4-2 record, but he didn't sign the contract until January, when the Senators needed help at the position.
At 38 years old, Reimer is certainly towards the end of his career, and there are still a few quality goaltenders available in free agency. That group includes Cam Talbot, Connor Ingram, and Petr Mrazek, who will probably all get contracts before training camp.
Last season, Reimer still showed he is able to help as a backup goaltender and probably gets a call at some point, either before training camp or during the season, as he did last year.
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