With the deadline for tendering a qualifying offer now less than 24 hours away, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams told Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that the ball is in Tyson Jost’s court as the two sides try to plug away at a new contract. The 25-year-old was claimed on waivers back in November from Minnesota and had some success with his new team, picking up 22 points in 59 games. However, he’s owed a $2.25MM qualifying offer tomorrow, one that also grants him arbitration eligibility. That offer is a bit on the pricey side for someone who has yet to have a lot of offensive success in the NHL, not to mention the risk of the arbitrator adding to that. Adams noted that discussions have been ongoing for several weeks now so it’s clear that Buffalo would like to keep Jost in the fold but if a deal can’t be reached by 4 PM CT on Friday, there’s a decent chance that the center will be non-tendered.
More from Buffalo:
- The Sabres were among the teams that were trying to move up into the top ten last night, Adams noted (video link). However, those efforts were rebuffed but in the end, they wound up with the player that they were trying to move up to get as forward Zach Benson, a consensus top-ten selection heading into the draft, wound up slipping to Buffalo at the 13th pick.
- Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester has added a pair of youngsters for next season as the Americans announced that they’ve signed 21-year-old forward Riley Fiddler-Schultz to a two-year contract and 21-year-old defenseman Nicolas Savoie to a one-year deal. Fiddler-Schultz just finished up a five-year career with WHL Calgary and notched 31 goals and 44 assists in 64 games this past season. Savoie, meanwhile, spent his five-year junior career with Quebec of the QMJHL, picking up 48 points in 65 games in 2022-23 while helping lead the Remparts to the Memorial Cup.