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Linus Ullmark

Free Agent Focus: Buffalo Sabres

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The free agent period is now less than one month away from opening up and there are several prominent players set to hit the open market while many teams have key restricted free agents to re-sign.  Here is a breakdown of Buffalo’s free agent situation.

Key Restricted Free Agents:

F Marcus Foligno – At just 25 years old, Foligno will enter his seventh season with the Sabres organization in 2017-18. While his development has been slow, it’s also been steady, finishing each passing season with more points than the year before. Foligno isn’t the player who showed flashes of as a rookie in 2011-12, scoring 13 points in 14 games, but he’s carved out an important role in Buffalo as a reliable top-nine winger. 2016-17 marked a career-high 13 goals for Foligno, helped along by a team-best 13.4% shooting percentage, as well as his first 80+ game season. As always though, Foligno’s true value comes in his physical two-way game, where he had a career-best and team-leading 279 hits, career-high 57 blocked shots, which led all Buffalo forwards, and was a vital member of the penalty kill. Las year, the Sabres signed Foligno to just a one-year, $2.25MM contract, but after again proving his worth as a defensive forward and top-nine contributor, new Buffalo GM Jason Botterill should have no problem giving the homegrown product a multi-year deal worth $2.5-$3MM annually. Even with fellow priority RFA’s Zemgus Girgensons and Johan Larsson in need of raises, the Sabres have plenty of cap space and will give Foligno what he’s worth.

G Robin Lehner –  The Sabres have no interest in letting Lehner go, but this off-season they need to either commit to the 25-year-old as their surefire starter or establish that they feel he is just a timeshare goalie at this point. Just two years ago, Buffalo traded a first-round pick to acquire Lehner from the Ottawa Senators. In his first year with the Sabres, he was excellent, posting a .924 save percentage and 2.47 GAA… but in only 21 games. Injuries limited Lehner to only a brief showing in 2015-16, but this past season he was able to see action in 59 games and again played well with a .920 save percentage and 2.68 GAA. With Chad Johnson gone, many expected that Lehner would play more this past season though. However, trade acquisition Anders Nilsson routinely outplayed Lehner all season long. The margin between the two wasn’t wide, but enough so that Nilsson managed to make 26 appearances, including 23 starts. The team has nonetheless stated that Lehner is their guy, but actions speak louder than words. The value and more so the term of Lehner’s contract this summer, as well as their negotiations with Nilsson, will speak volumes about their commitment to their supposed #1.

Other RFAs: F Zemgus Girgensons, F Johan Larsson, F Justin Kea, F Jean Dupuy, F Evan Rodrigues, D Brady Austin, G Linus Ullmark

Key Unrestricted Free Agents:

F Brian Gionta – The Buffalo captain may be 38 years old and have over 1000 NHL games under his belt, but he also just completed a full 82-game season and seventh on the team in scoring. At this point in his career, Gionta is not looking to re-locate and perhaps no team could use his veteran leadership and hockey intelligence more than the Sabres, who have few forwards over 30 and certain players in need of mentoring (i.e. Evander Kane). The Sabres have plenty of cap space to play with and are expected to fill holes throughout the roster via free agency, but they’ll have room to bring back their captain who is still capable of scoring 30-40 points and can play in all situations. He probably won’t get another three-year, $12.75MM contract, but if Gionta wants to be back, he will be.

G Anders Nilsson – The flip side of the situation with Lehner is that of Nilsson. Just a little over a year older than Lehner, Nilsson was finally given legitimate responsibility for the first time in his NHL career in 2016-17 and he flourished. His .923 save percentage and .267 GAA were just marginally better than Lehner, but a major step up from his previous performances. Perhaps the Sabres, who truly do need to commit to Lehner or not, are afraid that re-signing Nilsson would send the wrong message, but he has definitely earned that consideration. If the Sabres don’t bring back Nilsson, they’ll have to search for a veteran backup to the oft-injured Lehner anyway. It’s not a simple problem and how Boterill solves it will impact his start with the organization.

Other UFAs: D Cody Franson, D Dmitry Kulikov, D Taylor Fedun, D Erik Burgdoerfer, D Mat Bodie, F Derek Grant, F Cole Schneider, F Cal O’Reilly

Projected Cap Space: The Sabres currently have only $50.2MM committed to 2017-18 contracts by way of 11 forwards and five defensemen. (CapFriendly) The extensions for RFA’s Lehner, Foligno, Girgensons, and Larsson, all of whom will be safe from expansion, as well as roster hopefuls Alexander Nylander and Brady Austin will eat up some of that space. However, even if the cap ceiling remains at $73MM, Buffalo has nearly $23MM of space to work with and if Matt Moulson is an expansion casualty, as has been rumored, there’s another $5MM in relief. That should give them more than enough space to accommodate those young players, re-sign Gionta, extend or replace Nilsson, and still have the flexibility to explore the free agent market for better fits on the blue line than Franson or Kulikov and a game-changer up front.

Should Buffalo Trade For Capitals’ Grubauer?

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The Buffalo Sabres biggest pressing need may not be in goal, yet The Hockey Writers’ Richard Spalding suggests the Sabres best opportunity would be to upgrade their goaltending as acquiring goaltending will be at a premium before next month’s expansion draft. Defense may be the team’s biggest need, but if there is a chance to upgrade in the net, then that is the direction the Sabres should go.

Spalding is quick to point out that current starter Robin Lehner is not the problem as the team’s defense or lack thereof was much to blame for the team’s lackluster season. However, the 25-year-old starter is coming off a tough year in which he had a 2.68 GAA in 59 games. But is Lehner a No. 1 goalie? The scribe suggests that stressful situations have a tendency to get him. His 0-4 record in shootouts during the regular season is discouraging, but his save percentage in those shootout situations is 0 percent. He gave up eight goals on eight shots. While the playoffs have no shootouts, is that the goalie you want as you’re trying to build a team to win a Stanley Cup?

However, if the team can acquire a second goaltender to split time with Lehner, that could only improve the Sabres chances of turning around their fortunes. Spalding suggests the team trade for Washington’s Philipp Grubauer, who the Capitals would likely lose anyway in the expansion draft and therefore might be more willing to move their backup goaltender for something, most likely draft picks. Grubauer, also 25 years old, is coming off as season as the backup in which he had a 2.05 GAA in 23 games and a .926 save percentage.

Of course, the flaw in that plan is that the Sabres would then expose both Lehner and current backup Linus Ullmark to the expansion draft. However, even if one of them were taken by the Golden Knights, which is likely, the team would still have two solid goaltenders to work with next year.

Snapshots: McNeill, Tolchinsky, Borgstrom

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The Dallas Stars have recalled a pair of prospects for their final game of the season tomorrow against the Colorado Avalanche. Mark McNeill and Denis Gurianov are both on their way to Dallas and would be making their Stars debut should they be inserted into the lineup. McNeill, 24, came over in the Johnny Oduya trade at the deadline from the Chicago Blackhawks, where he had been a first-round pick (18th overall) and top prospect. The big center has just one NHL game under his belt and is actually in the midst of his worst (though still effective) AHL season yet. He’ll need a breakthrough at the NHL level soon if he’s to stay in the plans of the Stars long-term, as he’s approaching the end of “prospect status”.

Gurianov is the Stars’ own first round pick from 2015 (12th overall) and has had a solid rookie campaign in the AHL after coming over from Russia this year. With 25 points in 54 games he’s only brushing the surface of his eventual power forward game, and still hasn’t quite filled out into his 6’3″ frame. He’ll be making his NHL debut, and hope to push for a full-time role in the next year or so at the top level.

  • Speaking of young Russian wingers, the Carolina Hurricanes have recalled Sergey Tolchinsky from the Charlotte Checkers, while sending Andrew Poturalski back down. Tolchinsky has 22 points on the year in the AHL and still hasn’t replicated the immense scoring talent he showed for the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL. The 22-year old has some of the slickest hands in professional hockey, but has had trouble at times with his big size disadvantage. When he gets the puck in space though, watch out as you might see a highlight every time.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have brought Linus Ullmark back up, likely meaning that Anders Nilsson isn’t quite ready to get back on the ice just yet. Ullmark was sent down yesterday in what was apparently just a paper transaction, as neither the Buffalo Sabres nor the Rochester Americans played last night.
  • Andy Strickland of Fox Sports is reporting that Henrik Borgstrom will return to the University of Denver next season, meaning the Florida Panthers won’t get him into their system just yet. The first-round pick had 43 points in 36 games for DU this year, and will play for the national championship tomorrow night against Minnesota-Duluth. The lanky center has a great shot at the NHL after his college career ends, but the questions from the World Juniors still remain. He disappeared in the tournament for Finland and was held scoreless, not the first time he’s played poorly at an international event. With Finland firing their head coach mid-tournament, perhaps it was just a symptom of a bad system. For Borgstrom, he’ll need to prove his doubters wrong by continuing the consistent play he’s shown this year in the NCHC.

Minor Moves: Caamano, Wilcox, Ullmark

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After previously signing Nicholas Caamano to an amateur tryout, the Dallas Stars have inked the prospect to a three-year entry-level deal. The contract will begin during the 2017-18 season, though Caamano is expected to go back to the OHL for next season. A fifth-round pick in 2016, Caamano put together his best season this year with 64 points in 67 games for the Flint Firebirds. Though they were knocked out of the playoffs early, it was a solid step for the development of the young forward.

Registering a point in his first AHL game, Caamano will unfortunately have to either make the NHL team or return to the OHL next year. His age restricts him from playing in the AHL. With some older players likely leaving the Firebirds for bigger and better things next season, Caamano should be counted on as their top offensive weapon. An increase in responsibility should benefit his growth, as the Stars look to turn a late-round pick into a professional player.

  • The Florida Panthers have sent Adam Wilcox back to the AHL, signalling a return for James Reimer. Wilcox only backed up Reto Berra during his NHL stint, and will now return to the Thunderbirds where he had found a ton of success since being acquired at the trade deadline. Unfortunately, Springfield won’t be heading to the Calder Cup playoffs this year, meaning the end is close for Wilcox this season. The goaltender is a restricted free agent this summer for the first time, as his entry-level deal will expire.
  • The Buffalo Sabres have also sent a goaltender back down, re-assigning Linus Ullmark to the AHL today. Anders Nilsson’s injury had been deemed minor, and he should be back in net for one of the final two games this weekend. The Sabres face off against the Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning on back-to-back nights, ending what has been a frustrating season. Ryan O’Reilly put it into words yesterday when he told Joe Yerdon of NHL.com “it’s so frustrating coming to the rink right now. Practicing, there’s no purpose right now. You’re seeing other teams gearing up for the playoffs and seeing teams, like Toronto who’s young too, seeing them in the spot we should be in.”

Minor Moves: Gillies, Ullmark, Bondra, Morin

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According to John Shannon of Sportsnet, the Calgary Flames will recall goaltender Jon Gillies prior to their game in Los Angeles tomorrow night. The Flames sent Chad Johnson home for precautionary reasons following his lower-body injury on Tuesday night. Even though the last two games are very important for the Flames in determining their playoff seeding Shannon wouldn’t be surprised to see the team give Gillies the start tomorrow.

Gillies, 23, had an outstanding career at Providence College before debuting in the AHL last year. A hip injury derailed his rookie season, needing surgery in December of 2015 to correct a long-standing issue. This year his game hasn’t come all the way back, posting just a .909 save percentage through 38 games at the AHL. He remains one of the top goaltending prospects in the league though, and may get his chance to start a game in the NHL for the first time tomorrow night.

  • The Buffalo Sabres have recalled Linus Ullmark for much the same reason, with Anders Nilsson suffering a minor injury. Robin Lehner will get the start tonight again Montreal, as the team winds down their season. Ullmark, still just 23, hasn’t gotten back on the ice in the NHL this season despite his impressive 20-game stint with the club last year. Registering a .913 save percentage in those games, the former Swedish pro has shown that he can handle the NHL game. This season hasn’t gone as well in the AHL, but he still remains part of the Sabres future in net going forward.
  • Scott Powers of The Athletic tells us that Radovan Bondra will join the Rockford IceHogs for their last few games before negotiating an entry-level contract. The 20-year old power forward had 63 points in 62 games split between the Vancouver Giants and Prince George Cougars of the WHL. At 6’5″ 220-lbs, the Slovakian winger already has more than enough size for professional hockey, but actually needs to improve his consistent physical game as he floats to the perimeter at times.
  • The Arizona Coyotes announced today that Kyle Capobianco will join the Tucson Roadrunners for the end of the season. Capobianco already signed his entry-level deal in October, and has just completed his fourth season with the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves. The defenseman racked up another 45 points this season, his third straight excellent offensive campaign for the Wolves. While the defensive game is still a big question mark for Capobianco, his size and skating ability should lend itself to a solid development path as he inches towards the NHL. He’ll be 20 next year and will probably play all season with the Roadrunners.
  • Samuel Morin and Colin McDonald are on their way back to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, though one or both could be back in time for Saturday’s matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Morin debuted successfully on Tuesday night, skating almost 18 minutes alongside Shayne Gostisbehere and registering seven hits in the game. While his game still needs work—as even he admitted after the game, saying that he still needed to mature physically—he provides hope for Flyers’ fans for the future of their blue line.
  • The Blue Jackets have assigned Oscar Dansk to the AHL following his season with Rogle of the Swedish Hockey League. The second-round pick from 2012 has continued to develop in Sweden while the Blue Jackets kept Joonas Korpisalo and Anton Forsberg here in North America. The three young netminders represent one of the strongest goaltending pipelines in the league at the moment, as each has shown high potential at times. They’ll compete for the NHL backup spot next season, and for starts in the AHL.

Atlantic Notes: Condon, Girgensons, Ullmark, Larkin

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Senators goaltender Mike Condon is having a strong sophomore NHL season and is poised to earn a nice raise from the league minimum salary he’s earning this season.  He has posted a 2.49 GAA and a .914 SV% in 38 appearances between Pittsburgh and Ottawa and may be tempted to try and seek out a starting job as an unrestricted free agent in the summer.  Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun proposes that Condon should stick with the Sens even though he’d likely have to cede the starting job to Craig Anderson for one more year.

The scribe suggests that a three year, $5MM deal could be palatable for both Condon and the team.  For the 26 year old goalie, it would represent a sizable increase in pay and give him a nice guaranteed deal for someone that was on waivers from Montreal at the start of the season.  From Ottawa’s perspective, a deal like that would give them some stability beyond next year when Anderson becomes a free agent without really breaking the bank.

Elsewhere around the Atlantic:

  • Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News suggests that forward Zemgus Girgensons and goalie Linus Ullmark are the most likely options to be selected by the Golden Knights in the expansion draft in June. Girgensons had showed signs of a developing offensive game in his first two years but has tailed off since Dan Bylsma took over behind the bench; he has a career low 14 points (6-8-14) in 64 games this season.  If he isn’t taken by Vegas, the Latvian could be a strong trade candidate in the summer.  As for Ullmark, he has mediocre numbers at the AHL level this season but showed some good upside in a 20 game stint in Buffalo in 2015-16 which could make him an intriguing backup option with several years of team control for the Golden Knights.
  • Detroit forward Dylan Larkin is getting more comfortable as he transitions back towards his natural center position, writes Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press. The 20 year old sophomore started the year there but early struggles saw him shifted to the wing.  However, with the season all but over, the Red Wings plan to keep him there for the remainder of the year.  After a 45 point rookie campaign, Larkin has just 14 goals and 11 assists in 67 games this season.

Atlantic Notes: Sheahan, Ullmark, Lightning, Galchenyuk

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While many are keeping an eye on Detroit’s pending unrestricted free agents as potential players to be moved as rentals by Wednesday’s trade deadline, center Riley Sheahan is drawing some interest from Toronto, reports Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos (video link).  It’s not entirely surprising that the Leafs have some interest as head coach Mike Babcock is certainly familiar with Sheahan from his days behind Detroit’s bench.

To say that Sheahan has underachieved this season would be a big understatement.  Through 58 games, the 25 year old is still looking for his first goal while he has collected just nine assists.  Needless to say, the Wings would be selling low if they were to move Sheahan and there’s no indication they’re willing to do so just yet.  The center has one year left on his contract after this one with a cap hit of $2.075MM.

More from the Atlantic Division:

  • The Sabres announced that they have recalled goaltender Linus Ullmark from Rochester of the AHL. It’s the fifth time this season that Buffalo has summoned him but he has yet to see NHL action so far.  At the minor league level, he has a 20-20-2 record with a 2.90 GAA and a .910 SV% in 42 appearances.  It’s believed he’ll dress as the backup in place of Robin Lehner who was shaken up against the Avalanche on Saturday.
  • A trio of young Tampa Bay forwards in Vladislav Namestnikov, J.T. Brown, and Cedric Paquette are all wild cards heading into the deadline for the Lightning, suggests Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times. He notes that all three are unlikely to be protected for June’s expansion draft as things stand and as a result, GM Steve Yzerman could elect to move one to avoid the possibility of losing that player for nothing to Vegas.  Doing so would also free up a bit more money for next season as each player is already under contract for 2017-18 and every dollar will count for Tampa in the offseason with key players such as forwards Jonathan Drouin, Tyler Johnson, and Ondrej Palat all needing new deals.
  • One player who is likely to benefit from Montreal’s recent coaching change is center Alex Galchenyuk, Fluto Shinzawa of the Boston Globe opines. The scribe notes how new head coach Claude Julien was able to improve the defensive game of several Bruins forwards and if he can do the same here, the youngster should have a chance to play more down the stretch.  Despite being second on the Canadiens in points per game, Galchenyuk has actually seen his ice time cut compared to the last two seasons, in part due to his struggles at the defensive end.  The 23 year old is slated to be a restricted free agent with arbitration eligibility in the offseason and will likely seek a long-term deal, a strong finish to the year would go a long way towards landing that contract.

Minor Transactions: 1/19/17

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Here is where we’ll keep tabs on today’s minor roster moves:

  • Minnesota announced that they have recalled defenseman Mike Reilly from Iowa of the AHL. He has spent the bulk of the year in the minors and has four goals and 11 assists in 29 AHL contests.  Reilly also has played in nine games with the Wild, being held off the scoresheet while averaging 12:57 of ice time per night.
  • Carolina has swapped backup goalies, announcing that they have recalled Michael Leighton while assigning Alex Nedeljkovic back to their AHL affiliate in Charlotte. The two swapped places earlier this week, allowing Leighton to get into a couple of minor league games to stay in game shape.  Eddie Lack, the regular backup for the Hurricanes, remains out of the lineup indefinitely due to a concussion.
  • Buffalo announced that they have summoned goalie Linus Ullmark from Rochester (AHL). Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News reports (Twitter link) that Anders Nilsson is dealing with the flu so Ullmark will take his place in the interim.  This is the fourth recall for Ullmark this year but he has yet to see action with the Sabres this year.  He has a 15-13-1 record in the minors this year with a 3.03 GAA and a .908 SV%.
  • Ottawa has recalled right winger Casey Bailey from AHL Binghamton per their Twitter page. The Sens are currently dealing with a flu bug, notes Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun.  Bailey has played in four games for the Senators this season being held off the scoresheet but sits tied for second in goals in Binghamton with 10 in 33 minor league outings.
  • The Canucks swapped out depth defenders, announcing that they’ve recalled Jordan Subban while sending Andrey Pedan back to Utica (AHL). Subban leads all Comets blueliners with 22 points this season and has not yet played in the NHL.  As for Pedan, he had been up for the better part of a month but did not suit up in Vancouver and was close to needing waivers to be sent back down having been up for 29 days.
  • In what is becoming a daily shuffle, Anaheim announced the recall of winger Stefan Noesen from San Diego of the AHL.  It’s the fourth straight day that he has either been recalled or demoted as the Ducks look to conserve as much cap space as possible.  Noesen has a goal in nine NHL games with Anaheim this season while adding 15 points in 22 minor league contests.

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