Former Sabres on the Move During Free Agency

Just shy of a week after NHL free agency opened, a majority of now-former Buffalo Sabres players who became free agents have signed contracts for the 2021-22 season. There are also a handful of Sabres alumni who have been on the move and are heading to a new team in the fall. In case you’ve missed any of these signing announcements, here’s a quick look at where those players are headed:

The Sabres have already re-signed Rasmus Asplund to a two-year deal with an AAV of $825,000. They also re-signed Drake Caggiula and Brandon Davidson to one-year, league-minimum deals.

Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Dahlin, Henri Jokiharju and Casey Fitzgerald are restricted free agents still without contracts, but they didn’t elect for arbitration, so that’s a good sign.

Tobias Rieder, Riley Sheahan and Michael Houser remain unrestricted free agents.

Here are the now-former Sabres/Amerks who have signed elsewhere:

• Defenseman Matt Irwin signed with the Washington Capitals on July 28. It’s a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level and $350,000 at the AHL level.
• Defenseman Jake McCabe signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, inking a four-year deal with a $4 million AAV.
• Goaltender Carton Hutton signed with the Arizona Coyotes on a one-year, league minimum contract.
• Goaltender Linus Ullmark signed with the Boston Bruins on a four-year contract with a $5 million AAV.
• Center Jean-Sébastien Dea inked a one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens. He’ll earn $750,000 in the NHL and $450,000 in the AHL. Dea has appeared in 33 NHL games since 2016 and is a decent depth signing for the Laval Rocket.
• Center Steven Fogarty signed a one-year, league-minimum deal with the Boston Bruins. Like Dea, he is expected to play mostly in the AHL; to date, he has 27 games of NHL experience.
• Winger C.J. Smith signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s a one-year, two-way contract worth $750,000 at the NHL level and $250,000 at the AHL level, with a $300,000 guarantee. Smith, who appeared in 15 games with the Amerks this past season, will join the Chicago Wolves.

Other former Sabres/Amerks on the move include:

• Jaroslav Halak (Boston to Vancouver)
• Nikita Zadorov (Chicago to Calgary)
• Taylor Fedun (Dallas to Pittsburgh)
• Alex Biega (Detroit to Toronto)
• Matt Tennyson (New Jersey to Nashville)
• Zach Bogosian (Toronto back to Tampa Bay)
• Danny O’Regan (Vegas to Anaheim)