It’s time for another round of NHL rumours. We’re almost to the month of October and the start of the season. However, the NHL rumours are always churning. General managers have been busy making moves, but they’re always planning for the future. A number of teams are going to try to lock down their restricted free agents. One of those clubs is the Buffalo Sabres. This edition of NHL rumours looks at future contracts for a number of their young players.
All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.
NHL Rumours
Buffalo Sabres Looking to Sign RFAs
Rumour: The Athletic’s Matthew Fairburn took a look at what future contracts may look for their upcoming RFAs. Names like John-Jason Peterka, Jack Quinn, Bowem Byram and Devon Levi were mentioned.
Analysis: Buffalo currently has $7 million in free salary cap space at this moment. However, Fairburn points out that Sabres General Manager Kevyn Adams isn’t in a rush to spend that. There is some annoyance that the team wasn’t able to make a massive splash in the free agent market. The fan base is still waiting to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs after 13 seasons.
However, thoughts are already turning to next year and the multitude of young players on the roster. Buffalo already has nearly $61 million committed to 12 players next season.
The salary cap is expected to go up to around $92 million, so the club will have around $31 million to spend to fill out the roster. However, there are a number unrestricted and restricted free agents that need signing. There are going to be some decisions that will need to be made this coming off-season.
The Youth Movement
One thing the Sabres are doing is leaning on a lot of young players that are on entry-level deals. However, there will be a time where Adams is going to pay the piper. There’s going to be a well-deserved salary increase for a number of players.
The main one that Fairburn thinks will get a big bump in in pay is Peterka. We see a long-term contract projection of over $7.6 million per season for the next six years. A bridge deal would net over $5.1 million for two seasons. The German’s deal is going to take up some of that free space, but another season like 2023-24 will see it well worth the money.
Quinn’s deal is also slated to take up a decent portion of that cap space. According to Fairburn’s projections, a long-term deal would likely be six years with an average cap hit of over $7.1 million. A bridge deal would be for two years with a nearly $4.2 million AAV.
Making it Fit
The main question is seeing Buffalo can make these deals fit. Fairburn said it’s likely, but it may take some fancy moves from Adams. Players like Peterka and Quinn are definitely worthy of long-term deals. However, Bryam and Levi may have to take bridge deals at the moment.
This season’s performances can also make that average cap value fluctuate. Big years from any of these players could force Adams to have to fork more money over to keep them. Let’s also keep in mind that the offer sheet isn’t as taboo as it used to be.
One other thing Adams has to weigh is if he wants to keep a group together that hasn’t even made the post-season. Buffalo defying the odds and making the playoffs would change a lot of things. However, it will be hard to break through in an always-loaded Atlantic Division.
