The Buffalo Sabres had a busy week, signing unrestricted free agents Jason Zucker, Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Sam Lafferty, Dennis Gilbert, and James Reimer, making a significant trade on Friday in acquiring Ryan McLeod from Edmonton for prospect Matthew Savoie.
The club on Friday also announced the signing of defenseman Henri Jokiharju to a one-year, $3.1 million deal.
The 25-year-old blueliner was a first-round pick of the Chicago Blackhawks in 2017 and has been with Buffalo since 2019 when he was acquired for former Sabres first-rounder Alex Nylander. In 309 career games with the Sabres, the Oulu, Finland native has 75 points (16 goals, 59 assists).
Jokiharju along with veteran Connor Clifton represents the only right-handed shooting defensemen with NHL experience on Buffalo’s roster, and he improved significantly on defense last season according to former head coach Don Granato,
The one-year deal avoided the two sides going to salary arbitration, but after next season Jokiharju will become an unrestricted free agent, which could make him a potential trade candidate either later this summer or before the trade deadline next season.
