The Buffalo Sabres have made some good offseason moves, signing solid prospects including forwards Zach Benson and Anton Wahlberg and picking up veteran defensemen such as Erik Johnson and Connor Clifton. The Blue and Gold also extended some veteran players’ contracts, most notably captain Kyle Okposo.
The team’s Atlantic Division rivals also made some plays, letting some athletes go, signing new talent and trying to shore up their own rosters. How do these changes compare with the Sabres? In this two-part series, I’ll examine each competitor and look at how they stand midway through the offseason.
1) Toronto Maple Leafs
The franchise that Buffalo fans love to loathe is still struggling to recover from the debacle that was the Ryan O’Reilly deal. Then GM Kyle Dubas engineered a three-way trade between Toronto, the St. Louis Blues and the Minnesota Wild. The Leafs basically rented the former Sabres center for what was supposed to be a deep playoff run.
The Blues received prospect Mikhail Abramov, forward Adam Gaudette, Toronto’s 2023 first-round pick, 2023 third-round pick and 2024 second-round pick. Forward Noel Acciardi also went to the Leafs, while the Wild received TO’s 2024 fourth-round pick. O’Reilly didn’t create the same magic he brought to St. Louis and after the Leafs fell apart in Round 2, the center went to Nashville and Dubas went to Pittsburgh.
New Leafs GM Brad Treliving made four major free agent signings, trying to replace forwards the team lost, including Michael Bunting. According to Peter Barachinni of The Hockey Writers, Treliving’s best move was snagging Tyler Bertuzzi from the Bruins. Bertuzzi is a pest, as Sabres fans know too well.
However, Barachinni gave the GM’s other moves, getting Ryan Reaves, Max Domi and John Klingberg, a D+, B- and C, respectively. The Leafs still have some solid talent, but it remains to be seen, for example, if Bertuzzi can fill Bunting’s shoes. Bunting had 23 goals, 26 assists and 49 total points this past season. By comparison, Bertuzzi boasted of just 4, 12 and 16.
2) Boston Bruins
A rival that always seems to have Buffalo’s number, the Bruins were humbled in the 2023 NHL playoffs. After finishing the regular season as the NHL’s best team, Boston lost a seven-game series to the Florida Panthers and was out after the first round. Longtime Bruins linchpin Patrice Bergeron called it quits, retiring after 20 years.
Compounding the problem is a tight salary cap and GM Don Sweeney had to sign veteran forwards Milan Lucic, James van Riemsdyk and d-man Kevin Shattenkirk to one-year deals. Sweeney also sent ex-Sabre Taylor Hall and Nick Foligno to the Chicago Blackhawks for a bag of pucks, which didn’t go over well in Beantown.
One of Sweeney’s gambles was snagging forward Morgan Geekie with a two-year, $4 million contract, a risky move but probably necessary. Fortunately for the Bruins and unfortunately for their opponents, Boston still has the solid core of Charlie McAvoy, Davis Pastrnak, Hampus Lindholm and legendary thug Brad Marchand. While they’re not out of division competition by any means, losing some of their major pieces means the once mighty Bruins dynasty is no longer invincible.
3) Florida Panthers
The Panthers outplayed and outlasted one opponent after another in their 2023 Stanley Cup run, but finally ran out of luck in the finals, falling in humiliating fashion to the Las Vegas Golden Knights. However, Florida is far from finished as a serious Cup competitor. One of the franchise’s top assets, Matthew Tkachuk, is signed to a long-term deal until 2029-30.
Tkachuk was the difference maker in many tight spots in the Cats’ postseason race, even playing injured in the Final. If not for a broken sternum he suffered in Game 3, it’s possible he may have helped extend the series or even wiped the smug smirk off the Knights’ faces by skating around with the Cup.
Despite locking up this key asset, Pathers General Manager Bill Zito wasn’t quiet during the trade deadline, making five free-agent signings and one trade on the first day of free agency alone. One of those was former Sabre Evan Rodrigues, who comes to Sunrise with a four year, 12-million deal. Colby Guy of Florida Hockey Now gave the move an A.
Guy also liked some of Zito’s other choices, especially signing d-men Nikko Mikola and Mike Reilly. Florida has a solid defensive depth, something that could help the team in a future Cup run. Veteran defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour, yet another former Sabre, are battling injuries but should return sometime in the upcoming season. The Panthers are still dangerous.
4) Tampa Bay Lightning
The Tampa Bay Lightning have vied for Atlantic Division dominance for a number of years. However, this season the Bolts, like the Bruins, fell short in the first playoff round, losing to the Leafs in their case.
One of Tampa’s strengths has been depth, with talented players filling every role. The Lightning continued to shore up their roster by adding new assets, particularly another player who skated for the Sabres, Connor Sheary and Luke Glendening.
Sheary isn’t a goal-scoring machine, but his solid stats (15 goals, 22 assists and 37 points last year) make him a good pickup. Glendening is also decent, not as high-scoring as Sheary but he does have 148 total career points. The two forwards bring playoff success, something Nathan Grella of Sportskeeda.com believes can only help the Bolts get back in the deep postseason picture.
While the team has some substance on offense and defense, Tampa hasn’t solved the problem that is goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy. The veteran netminder struggled in his last playoff appearance and GM Julien BriseBrois hasn’t found a reliable backup goalie to pick up some of Vasilevskiy’s workload. Even so, Tampa, the state of Florida’s other hockey franchise, is still a team opponents would be foolish to look past.
That’s a look at Part One of the Buffalo Sabres’ Atlantic Division rivals’ offseason moves. In Part Two, I’ll explore the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and Detroit Red Wings.