The flurry of offseason activity has slowed down around the league, and the Buffalo Sabres roster seems to be largely set. The Sabres would lose Alex Tuch, Jordan Greenway, and Bowen Byram but brought in defensemen Olen Zellweger and Louis Crevier while seemingly relying on the development of their younger players to replace Tuch.
Even though most of the roster is set, there are still three players from last year's team still out there without contracts. Here is a breakdown of where things currently stand with those three players and who among them are likely to return to Western New York.
Peyton Krebs
Among the three players on this list, Peyton Krebs has the highest likelihood of returning. He is the only restricted free agent, and he elected for arbitration, so he can't accept any offer sheets now from other teams.
Last season, Krebs showed how valuable he is to this team because he was able to play up and down the lineup. He began the season on the fourth line, but in the second half of the season, he was regularly on the Sabres' top line with Tage Thompson at center.
While Krebs did decide to go to arbitration, the two sides usually are able to agree to a new deal before it gets to that meeting. One of the reasons is that in arbitration, the term of the contract can only be one or two years, and the team decides the length of the term.
It wouldn't be surprising if the two sides agreed to something before arbitration, and it was more of a three or four-year deal.
Tanner Pearson
The Buffalo Sabres traded for Tanner Pearson at the trade deadline to provide them with some veteran depth going into the playoffs. He would end up playing in only four games for Buffalo, but did have two assists.
However, the Sabres already have 13 forwards under contract, and once a deal is agreed to with Krebs, he would just add to that total. It doesn't seem likely that the Sabres have a roster spot available for Pearson, so he likely will be playing somewhere else if he decides to continue his NHL career.
Logan Stanley
The final player from the Buffalo Sabres roster last season who has yet to sign a new contract is Logan Stanley. It is a little surprising that Stanley has yet to find a team for next season, as the depth among available defensemen wasn't that great this summer.
The Sabres traded for Stanley at the trade deadline, along with Luke Schenn, in hopes of addressing their third pair. He is a big defenseman who showed some offensive skill with the Jets, with nine goals in 76 games after only five in the prior five seasons.
However, that didn't really translate with the Sabres as he had no goals and only five assists in 17 regular season games.
The Sabres this summer brought in Olen Zellweger and Louis Crevier in trades, and with Zach Metsa still on the roster, it doesn't seem like there is a spot for Stanley. However, the Sabres did see how quickly depth can disappear last season, and it wouldn't be surprising that the longer Stanley goes without a contract, the Sabres consider bringing him back on a one or two-year deal.
It has been a busy offseason for Jarmo Kekalainen and there isn't much more room on the roster to add players. That doesn't mean he is done and Peyton Krebs and Logan Stanley could certainly be back with the team once training camp starts in a few months.
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