The Buffalo Sabres, as with many clubs looking to gain entry to the playoffs or advance further in the postseason, face a number of options depending how the dominoes fall leading up to the start of free agency. Some of those potential options were mentioned by The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta on a Thursday podcast.
Along with the revealed trade requests of Detroit’s Dylan Larkin and Edmonton’s Darnell Nurse, Pagnotta reports of unconfirmed reports that multiple Vezina Trophy winner and Olympic gold medal winner Connor Hellebuyck may be looking to play elsewhere. The 33-year-old has five years remaining on an eight-year deal at $8.5 million.
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Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen said at his season-ending media availability that he was content with the three-headed monster of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, Colten Ellis and Alex Lyon, but the inconsistency of UPL and Lyon in the playoffs was a big factor in Buffalo’s second round loss to Montreal. The cost for Hellebuyck would likely be prohibitive, which may prevent the Sabres from being serious challengers, but Kekalainen could be willing to investigate other possibilities on the goalie market.
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Pagnotta reiterated reports from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman earlier in the week that the is a gap between what the Sabres are willing to offer and what winger Alex Tuch is looking for. He went further to say that if the two sides were close, the deal would get done.
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The 30-year-old is expected to draw the most attention on July 1 and is reportedly looking for more than $10 million per season on a long-term deal. The Sabres have only $12.9 million in available cap space this summer, and might have to make other moves to clear cap room if they wanted to re-sign Tuch. If Kekalainen does not trade his negotiating rights or do a sign-and-trade at or around the NHL Draft later this month, the Sabres could lose one of their top forwards without any kind of return.
Coming off an impressive showing in the playoffs, the speculation regarding a trade involving defenseman Owen Power has quieted, but if the Sabres lose Tuch in free agency, some clubs reportedly have kicked tires on the 2021 top overall pick to see what it would take to acquire him.
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