Navigating the Salary Cap is probably one of the more important tasks for any general manager to have. Teams that can avert total cap chaos by walking the tightrope of inking players to deals that match their value (or compensate for future value without breaking the bank) remain successful. Those that don’t see struggles and front office changes.
PHR will look at every NHL team and give a thorough look at their cap situation heading into the 2017-18 season. This will focus more on those players who are integral parts of the roster versus those who may find themselves shuttling between the AHL and NHL. All cap figures are courtesy of CapFriendly.
Buffalo Sabres
Current Cap Hit: $66,478,691 (under the $75MM Upper Limit)
Entry-Level Contracts
D Viktor Antipin (One year remaining, $925K)
F Jack Eichel (One year remaining, $925K)
F Sam Reinhart (One year remaining, $894K)
One big reason for the Sabres having the type of cap space that they do is due to the fact that Eichel and Reinhart are still on their rookie contracts. They won’t be cheap for much longer, however. Eichel is believed to be in talks on a max eight-year extension that should have him in the upper echelon of cap hits when all is said and done. Reinhart’s case will be more of an interesting one as he has produced like a second liner through his first two NHL seasons. If he takes the next step as expected, he’ll command a significant raise next summer as well. As for Antipin, he’s a wildcard as he crosses the pond for the first time at the age of 24. The team is undoubtedly hoping he’ll be able to lock down a top-four role and if he does, he too is going to command a big pay increase.
Potential Bonuses
Antipin: $850K
Eichel: $2.85MM
Reinhart: $2.65MM
Total: $6.35MM
One Year Remaining, Non Entry-Level
F Nicolas Deslauriers ($775K, UFA)
D Josh Gorges ($3.9MM, UFA)
G Chad Johnson ($2.5MM, UFA)
F Jacob Josefson ($700K, UFA)
F Evander Kane ($5.25MM, UFA)
G Robin Lehner ($4MM, RFA)
F Benoit Pouliot ($1.15MM, UFA)
Up front, the list is highlighted by Kane, a highly talented but sometimes mercurial winger. He has been a legitimate top line forward at times while at others, he has been content to play a more passive role on a lower trio. With this being a contract year, it will be interesting to see if he can respond with a more consistent season. If Buffalo is out of the playoff race by the trade deadline, he could be one of the best rental options available, assuming he doesn’t sign an extension beforehand. The others are primarily depth/role players although Pouliot is worth keeping an eye on as he looks to rebuild his value after being bought out by the Oilers in June.
On the back end, Gorges has started to break down in recent years, no doubt a by-product of his prolific shot-blocking throughout his career. He isn’t expected to be more than a depth defender on their new-look blueline and if he is offered an extension, it will surely be at a considerably lower salary.
There aren’t many teams that have both goaltenders on expiring contracts but that’s the case here. Lehner is on his second ‘prove it’ contract after coming off a career high 59 appearances last season. If he doesn’t earn the confidence of management in 2017-18, it would seem likely that they will start to take a long look at other potential options. Johnson was brought back to give the Sabres an above average backup that can hold his own if Lehner gets hurt or struggles and will serve as a bridge to youngster Linus Ullmark who is already signed through 2018-19 but will likely spend most of the year with AHL Rochester.
Two Years Remaining
D Nathan Beaulieu ($2.4MM, RFA)
F Johan Larsson ($1.475MM, RFA)
D Jake McCabe ($1.6MM, RFA)
F Matt Moulson ($5MM, UFA)
F Jason Pominville ($5.6MM, UFA)
Pominville was basically a contract that Buffalo had to take on in order to land some help on the back end (more on that player shortly). His best days came with the Sabres and if he can even come close to the form he had a couple of years ago, he could be a big part of their attack. Moulson, meanwhile, has underwhelmed the last couple of years and hasn’t produced like the top-six player they’re paying him to be. If they decide they need to free up cap space for 2018-19, he could become a potential buyout candidate if he doesn’t rediscover his scoring touch.
Beaulieu recently received a second ‘bridge contract’ as the Sabres wait to see if he can put together more of a consistent all-around game while McCabe has emerged as a top-four rearguard. Both players will have arbitration rights at the end of their respective deals.
Three Or More Years
D Zach Bogosian ($5.14MM through 2019-20)
F Kyle Okposo ($6MM through 2022-23)
F Ryan O’Reilly ($7.5MM through 2022-23)
D Rasmus Ristolainen ($5.4MM through 2021-22)
D Marco Scandella ($4MM through 2019-20)
O’Reilly continues to be a go-to player for Buffalo and while his contract isn’t ever going to be a bargain, the perception of it isn’t anywhere near as bad as it was when they signed it upon acquiring him from Colorado. It will be interesting to see how the center position shakes out as Eichel and Reinhart – top-six pivots in their own right – continue to develop. Okposo failed to find the same chemistry he had back with John Tavares of the Islanders while missing the end of the year due to a concussion and an illness stemming from medication he took. While he didn’t produce as expected, he’ll be pencilled in as a top-six winger for a long time yet.
Ristolainen is one of the top young blueliners in the league and will be a bargain for the next half-decade as a legitimate number one defender. Scandella was the focal point of the trade with Minnesota that also yielded Pominville. While his offensive upside is limited, he should at the very least add some defensive stability while being able to log second pairing minutes. Bogosian has not fared well in recent years and hasn’t become the core defender they were hoping he’d be for them when they picked him up from Winnipeg. Speculatively, he’s someone that could potentially benefit from a change of scenery but between his struggles and recent injury concerns, his contract may be tough to move.
Buyouts
D Christian Ehrhoff (post-lockout compliance buyout)
F Cody Hodgson ($42K in 2017-18, -$458K (cap credit) in 2018-19, $792K from 2019-20 through 2022-23)
F Ville Leino (post-lockout compliance buyout)
Still To Sign
F Zemgus Girgensons (RFA)
Best Value: Ristolainen
Worst Value: Bogosian
Looking Ahead
Cap space won’t be an issue for Buffalo this coming season but that will change afterwards as Eichel and Reinhart come off their entry-level deals. If they don’t add any other notable multi-year contracts in the coming months though, they should be well-positioned to incur those raises without having to move any notable players off their roster. With that in mind, while the Sabres have plenty of room for this season as things stand, it’s reasonable to expect that they’ll keep a lot of that space intact to cover the potential bonuses the three entry-level players have on their current deals. If they can absorb the cap charge of those in 2017-18 and avoid any overage penalties, it will leave them in much better shape heading into next offseason.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.