The 2025 NHL Entry Draft has now concluded, which means it’s time to enter free agency, which officially opens at noon on July 1. We’ve already heard reports from Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman that the Vegas Golden Knights are trying to finalize a sign-and-trade deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs for Mitch Marner. If that doesn’t happen, we could be looking at the Golden Knights signing him outright when free agency opens.
As for the Buffalo Sabres, they traded J.J. Peterka to the Utah Mammoth for Michael Kesserling and Josh Doan. Kesserling, being the main piece going to Buffalo, is a 25-year-old right-shot defenseman and fills a massive need for the Sabres right away. It seems the intention is for Kesserling to be Owen Power’s long-term defense partner on the second pair.
With Peterka’s departure, the Sabres now have a massive need in the top six, specifically, for a top-line scoring winger. It’s going to be hard to find a replacement for Peterka’s offensive production, who recorded a career-high 68 points this season at 23 years old. The Sabres are going to have to make a hard push to find his replacement this offseason, and two players come to mind right away with that.
Brock Boeser
Brock Boeser is one of three to four wingers who are going to be highly sought after on the open market. Coming off a 50 point campaign in 75 games, he did what he could amidst the locker room drama that was happening with the Vancouver Canucks all season. For most of his career, he has been a 45-55 point player with an outlier of 73 points during the 2023-2024 season. Having him play with Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch, and the Sabres’ young, emerging stars would be beneficial to everyone.
Boeser is not going to provide a two-way game. Just like Peterka, one won’t pay him to play defense. Sure, one would like some two-way game and some effort, but Boeser is going to get paid to score goals and produce offensively on a nightly basis. Boeser is only 28 years old, too, so giving him a seven-year contract would not be such a bad thing for the Sabres either.
If the Sabres were to sign Boeser, he’d be a great fit right away as a player who not only can score 30 goals but who can also provide 30 assists. Placing Boeser with Thompson on the top line right away would lead to better production from him than the output he provided with Elias Pettersson. That is in no way a shot at Pettersson, because he is a great player; however, I do think Thompson is the better player right now.
My projected contract for Boeser, if the Sabres were to sign him is a seven-year deal, is $8.75 million per season. That might seem like a slight overpay, but right now, the Sabres need to overpay on big free agent if they want to win their services. Plus, with the salary cap expected to rise exponentially over the next few seasons, it won’t be an overpay by year three of the deal.
Nikolaj Ehlers
Nikolaj Ehlers is coming off a 63-point season while playing in 69 games and is my number-two target in free agency, only behind, of course, Mitch Marner. The 29-year-old can help fill the offensive production that left the team when they traded Peterka. Being a 60-70 point player who can provide a little more defense than Boeser and Peterka, he would be as close to a perfect fit as one can get.
Ehlers alongside Jiri Kulich and Thompson would be a scary line for opponents to line up against. Ehlers’ 30-goal, 40-assist potential would be a huge boost in the Sabres’ push for a playoff spot next season. The additions of Kesserling, Doan, and Ehlers would be a successful offseason.
Ehlers would not only would help offensively, but he is also a good fit for head coach Lindy Ruff’s system. The Sabres are trying to bring in surrounding pieces that have a bit more of a two-way or defensive game than in previous seasons. Of course, one would pay Ehlers to produce in the offensive end, and while he might not be the most electrifying two-way player, he can be effective in the defensive end similar to Thompson.
My projected contract for Ehlers would be a six-year deal worth $9.5 million per season. I don’t think this would be an overpay. His market value will hover around $8.5-$9 million, and, as previously states, the Sabres will have to pay a little more to convince players to play in Buffalo than other teams would.
For the Sabres to make the playoffs, acquiring one of Boeser or Ehlers is nearly necessary. Will Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams be aggressive, or will he stay passive and not make any big moves? We will find out soon enough.
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