One dream, one realistic, and one bargain player for the Sabres to target in NHL Free Agency
Bargain Free Agent: Jordan Martinook, Carolina Hurricanes
An older player who may also see middle-six minutes but most likely on the lower lines, Jordan Martinook wouldn’t sign on for such a high price with the Sabres and he, like the other two on this list, brings playoff experience. And also like Warren Foegele and Max Domi, Martinook possesses supplemental points productivity who could add between 11 and 15 goals a season.
He boasts a fair amount of physicality, even if it’s nowhere near the degree it was earlier in his career, but to help the Sabres, he doesn’t need to become the big hitter he once was. Looking at Martinook’s possession metrics from the regular season, he logged a Corsi For of 61.3 percent at even strength, even with a paltry 44.7 percent of offensive zone starts. That says a lot, even if he was playing for an outstanding team this past season.
Even if Martinook isn’t the one converting shots into goals or even logging primary or secondary helpers, it shouldn’t matter. He’s still pitching in by helping his team create opportunities when he’s on the ice, and the Sabres didn’t have anywhere near enough of that last season.
Like the other two free agents on this list, Martinook won’t provide jaw-dropping output, but again, I can’t stress enough that the Sabres could either a) see a renaissance in their top-six or b) they will sign someone for the top-six and someone like Martinook, Domi, or Foegele would slide in as supplements if any of the three found their way to Western New York.
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