Bryson, Stillman Not Made Offers, Now Unrestricted Free Agents
NHL clubs had until Sunday afternoon to submit qualifying offers to restricted free agents or they would become free to sign with any team on July 1. The Buffalo Sabres made offers to four players; goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, defenseman Henri Jokiharju, center Peyton Krebs, and newly acquired forward Beck Malenstyn, and chose not to make offers to blueliners Jacob Bryson, and Riley Stillman.
Luukkonen started a career-high 51 games and went 27-22-4, with a 2.57 GAA and .910 save percentage last season, and his representatives and the Sabres are working on a contract extension according to GM Kevyn Adams.
Jokiharju, 25, had 20 points (3 goals, 17 assists) in 74 games last season, and Adams said he is interested in getting the right-handed blueliner extended, but his recent switch of agents has slowed down the negotiation process.
Krebs, 23, played mostly a fourth-line role with Buffalo last season, scoring 17 points (4 goals, 13 assists) in 80 games in the final year of his entry-level contract, while the 26-year-old Malenstyn was acquired from the Washington Capitals for a second-round pick after a 21-point campaign in his first full NHL season.
Bryson was an extra defenseman for most of the season but got more playing time after the injury to Mattias Samuelsson, the demotion of Ryan Johnson and the trade of Erik Johnson to Philadelphia at the deadline. The 26-year-old was in the final year of a two-year, $3.7 million bridge deal and his qualifying offer would have been in excess of $2 million.
Stillman was acquired in a trade with Vancouver in February 2023 and played 18 games for the Sabres, but the 26-year-old did not make the club out of training camp and played all of last season with AHL Rochester.
