The NHL Draft has come and gone and the Buffalo Sabres have certainly been busy retooling the roster given there were some expiring contracts and players entering pivotal final seasons of their current deals.
This week will see the opening of NHL Free Agency, starting at 12:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday July 1. Under the terms of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, any contact or contract negotiation between NHL teams and pending unrestricted free agents (UFAs) is strictly prohibited prior to the official opening, even though every year we see prior discussions all the time.
Between contract extensions, early trades, NMCs and NTCs, this has led to a pretty weak free agent market, but that should not dissuade aggressive General Managers from making moves. We’ll have a tracker going here on DBTB to update the latest signings on Wednesday.