- In more unfortunate news, the NHL Alumni Association announced the passing of former Buffalo Sabre, Joe Kowal today at the age of 67. Kowal was drafted by the Sabres with the 33rd overall pick in the 1976 NHL Draft and managed 22 games in Buffalo over two years at the NHL level. All of us at PHR extend our condolences to Kowal’s family.
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Sabres Rumors
Now Unlikely That Olofsson Is Traded
Earlier this offseason, Sabres winger Victor Olofsson and his representatives expected a trade to be coming at some point before training camp. However, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News suggests that a move involving the 28-year-old is a lot less likely now thanks to the Achilles injury to Jack Quinn that will keep the youngster out for at least the first two months of the season. Olofsson is now in the final year of his contract which carries a $4.75MM AAV which, in itself, makes a trade difficult despite coming off a year that saw him collect 28 goals, a new career high. With Quinn out for a while, Olofsson could lock down a spot a little higher in the lineup after seeing time on the fourth line last season which would give him a chance to be a productive piece for Buffalo in the early going in 2023-24.
Buffalo Sabres Officially Name Jacksonville Icemen As ECHL Affiliate
- The Buffalo Sabres confirmed the Jacksonville Icemen as their next ECHL affiliate today, as expected. It amounts to a swap of affiliates between the Sabres and New York Rangers, now affiliated with the Cincinnati Cyclones, Buffalo’s previous affiliate in the second-tier minor league. The current Sabres team does have one connection to the Icemen – assistant coach Jason Christie, who coached the Icemen for four seasons before heading to the Sabres in 2021 and remains the ECHL’s all-time leader in games coached.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Linus Weissbach
The Buffalo Sabres signed left wing Linus Weissbach to a one-year, two-way contract today, the team said in a release. Weissbach’s new deal carries a $775K cap hit; however, the team did not disclose the complete structure of his contract.
With no pending arbitration cases, Weissbach was Buffalo’s last unsigned restricted free agent. Weissbach was eligible for arbitration but chose not to file.
The Swedish winger had quite a solid sophomore campaign with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, finishing fourth on the team with 47 points in 69 regular-season games last season and recording his first 20-goal campaign in the pros. He added on three goals, seven assists and ten points in 12 games of postseason play as the Americans advanced to the Eastern Conference Final, losing to the eventual Calder Cup champion, the Hershey Bears.
At 25 years old, Weissbach is a bonafide top-six AHL winger. How much farther he can rise from there remains to be seen. Still, his high-energy play and consistent forechecking earned him a qualifying offer last month and at least one more season of action in the Sabres organization.
Getting any games played within the organization out of a seventh-round pick is generally a victory for a team’s scouting department, and it’s fair to say the Sabres’ scouts can be happy with their choice after selecting Weissbach 192nd overall in 2017. The 5-foot-10 winger has gathered 84 points in 136 games over two seasons in Rochester after a successful four-year stay at the University of Wisconsin, where he earned Big Ten All-Rookie honors in 2017-18 and an All-Star team nod in 2020-21.
Sabres To Affiliate With ECHL Jacksonville
- The Sabres have reached a new ECHL affiliation agreement for next season as Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports that Buffalo will be partnered up with Jacksonville, formerly an affiliate of the Rangers. Buffalo had been with Cincinnati since 2017 but needed a new one when the Rangers signed with that franchise; this move basically makes it a trade of affiliates. A press conference is scheduled for Monday to make it official.
Buffalo Sabres Sign Anton Wahlberg, Brett Murray
The Buffalo Sabres have the first member of their 2023 draft class under contract, announcing the signing of forward Anton Wahlberg to a three-year entry-level deal. PuckPedia has the details of his contract, which carries a cap hit of $897K:
Years 1 and 2: $775K base salary, $95K signing bonus, $80K games played bonus, $82.5K minors salary
Year 3: $885K salary, $95K signing bonus, $82.5K minors salary
The team also signed AHL depth forward Brett Murray to a one-year deal, keeping one of the Rochester Americans’ best scoring options in the organization on a two-way deal worth $775K in the NHL.
Buffalo selected Wahlberg with their first of two second-round picks in last month’s draft, utilizing the 39th overall pick to bring him into the organization. The rangy Swedish center has pro-level size already at 6-foot-3 and 192 pounds and plays a rather well-rounded game. There were definitely players with higher NHL ceilings available at Wahlberg’s pick, but he was certainly a safe option early in the second round that’s hard to make much fuss about.
Wahlberg’s spent most of his development with the Malmo Redhawks’ junior program in Sweden’s top U-20 league. Last season, his 27 points in 32 games were eclipsed by quite a few peers within his class, but he did earn an extensive look against pros in the SHL, recording two goals and two assists in 17 games for the Redhawks.
He’s a player the organization is quite high on – general manager Kevyn Adams said after selecting Wahlberg that they were trying to trade up into the late first round to select him. He’s already arrived stateside, too, getting to know the organization at development camp earlier this month.
That being said, given he’s not a first-round pick, his SHL team has the final say in where he’ll play if he’s not in the NHL right away, which is the likely scenario. Malmo has Wahlberg under contract for 2023-24 and will almost certainly want him back in the fold as they try to avoid relegation, meaning Buffalo will loan him back to Sweden for the upcoming season. Doing so will slide the beginning of his ELC to 2024-25.
Murray, on the other hand, will continue his stay in the Sabres organization after tallying 49 points in 71 games for the Americans last season, which ranked third on the team. The 24-year-old does have some NHL experience under his belt, playing in 21 games for the Sabres over the past few years after they selected him in the fourth round of the 2016 NHL Draft. In four total seasons in Rochester, Murray has amassed a total of 56 goals and 69 assists for 125 points.
Gavin McCarthy Won't Go To The OHL Next Season
- Sabres prospect Gavin McCarthy was part of the trade that saw Shane Wright get traded close to the OHL trade deadline last season. However, he indicated to Mike Harrington of The Buffalo News that despite his inclusion in the swap, he intends to honor his original commitment to Boston University. The 18-year-old defenseman was a third-round pick last month (86th overall) after putting up 27 points in 42 games with USHL Muskegon last season.
Nathan Paetsch And Vinny Prospal Named Assistant Coaches In Rochester
- The Sabres announced the hiring of two new assistant coaches for AHL Rochester, naming Nathan Paetsch and Vinny Prospal to the role. Paetsch has worked as a development coach for Buffalo for the last two seasons while Prospal most recently served as the head coach for HC Ceske Budejovice in the Czech Extraliga with that stint ending after the 2020-21 campaign. The two former NHL veterans will take the place of two other former veterans that have been promoted to jobs at the top level with Paetsch replacing Mike Weber (Blues) and Prospal filling the spot of Mike Peca (Rangers).
Clifton Had As Many As 10 Offers
Signing a three-year, $10MM contract with the Buffalo Sabres shortly after the market opened on July 1st, defenseman Connor Clifton had no shortage of offers. In an article from Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, he passes along a note from Clifton’s agent, Eric Quinlan, that the defenseman had as many as 10 offers, one of which was for a longer-term and higher AAV than what he eventually signed in Buffalo.
It’s not difficult to ascertain why Clifton ultimately picked the Sabres as his landing spot, as they are considered one of the most exciting upstart teams in all of hockey. Clifton ultimately brings what the organization needs. The Sabres were great offensively last season, illustrated by their 3.57 GF/G (third in NHL), but they struggled defensively, finishing 27th in the league in GA/G with a 3.62 mark.
Clifton is most known for his skill on the defensive side of the puck, but he did produce better offensively with the Boston Bruins last season, scoring five goals and 18 assists in 78 games. His defensive attributes will be more of what the Sabres are expecting on this deal, as Clifton’s career oiSV% (Team On-Ice Save Percentage in All Situations) of 92.4% will dramatically help the team keep the puck out of their net.
Sabres Notes: Free Agency, Wahlberg, Amerks
While Buffalo was active on the opening day of free agency, their NHL signings were on the back end with the pickups of Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton. However, GM Kevyn Adams told reporters including Bill Hoppe of the Olean Times Herald that they were also looking to make an addition up front and even got close to one before it fell through. With Jack Quinn tearing his Achilles tendon in offseason training which will keep him out for a couple of months in-season at least, there’s now an open spot on the wing that they could have been looking to fill on a short-term deal. With that in mind, the Sabres are a team to keep an eye out on as the UFA market slows down; perhaps a bargain option will present itself later in the summer. Alternatively, Quinn’s injury could also put a possible Victor Olofsson swap on hold.
More from Buffalo:
- Last month, the Sabres selected center Anton Wahlberg with the 39th selection in the draft. Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News relays that Buffalo tried to trade for a second first-round pick without success and then tried to trade up in the second round (also without success) to secure Wahlberg, who was clearly rated much higher on their list. Wahlberg was close to a point-per-game player in Sweden’s junior level last season and is poised to have a full-time spot with Malmo of the SHL in 2023-24.
- Buffalo’s AHL affiliate in Rochester brought back three veterans yesterday, announcing the re-signings of forwards Mason Jobst and Brendan Warren along with goaltender Michael Houser on minor-league deals. Jobst had a career-best 38 points in 63 games for the Amerks last season while Warren chipped in with seven in 43 contests before putting up five in seven playoff appearances. As for Houser, he had a 2.80 GAA with a .906 SV% in 21 appearances while having his contract converted to an NHL one for the third year in a row back in February.