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The Buffalo Sabres are losing a young player with promise in the expansion draft, as the Vegas Golden Knights have made Will Carrier their selection from the Sabres roster according to Frank Seravalli of TSN.
Closing up some of the loose ends lingering out there. Believe #Vegas takes William Carrier from BUF and Jon Merrill from NJD.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 21, 2017
Carrier, originally acquired from the Blues as part of the Ryan Miller and Steve Ott trade, made his NHL debut this season. He scored five goals and three assists in 41 games with the Sabres, showing off a nice blend of speed, skating skills and toughness.
The 22-year-old winger spent time in three seasons with the Rochester Americans before his call-up. The Buffalo News’s Mike Harrington speculated earlier this week that Jason Botterill left Carrier unprotected to keep Vegas GM George McPhee away from goalie Linus Ullmark, but there haven’t been any reports on an official deal between the two teams.
Carrier was one of the cheaper options for Vegas to select. He’s making $690k through next season.
Carrier and the rest of Vegas’s selections will be announced tonight at the NHL Awards Show at 8 p.m. Every team will have one player selected by the Golden Knights.
UPDATE: The Sabres gave Vegas a sixth-round pick to take Carrier, calling it ‘Expansion Draft considerations’.