3 Free Remaining Agents the Sabres Should Target

The Buffalo Sabres still have yet to make a major splash in any real way over the course of free agency to fare this season. With them making a handful of minor and depth moves they still need to round out the top part of their NHL roster, and get some more firepower up front if they can. With a number of free agents still left on the board to fill these needs, they have some very good options to choose from.

Eeli Tolvanen – Winger

The Sabres have established themselves as a quick team that can put pucks in the net 5-on-5, but they still need a lot of help in the power-play department. A player that could really help them with that would be Eeli Tolvanen. He has shown some great capabilities as a physical third line player that can score, but he has also shown that he is a very capable power play threat.

With Alex Tuch being traded to the Washington Capitals, the Sabres will need a way to replace the production he had, or improve on it in some way. Tolvanen scored 5 power play goals and amassed 14 power play points in his 78 games with the Seattle Kraken last season. It would be a perfect replacement for either the first or second power play units, and it would likely be a fairly cheap and short term deal for the Sabres.

Anthony Mantha – Winger

If the Sabres wanted to make a bigger swing during the free agency period, they could approach the likes of Anthony Mantha. He would likely cost the most of the three players on this list, but he also brings some very good recent success with him that would immediately improve their scoring all around. Having had a career year in every major scoring metric (33 goals, 31 assists, 64 points, 13 power play points) he would be a credible scoring threat for the Sabres to add.

After playing for a modest contract with the Penguins for a season ($4.5-Million for one year) he is due for a bit of a pay bump. The Sabres do have around $11-million in cap space at the moment, so they could afford a one year deal to use him as a scoring stopgap until their prospects pan out a little bit. He would likely cost somewhere in the $6-million range if they managed to secure a one year deal, but he would be very worth it.

Patrik Laine – Winger

Going in to free agency, I expected some random team to take a flier on Patrik Laine. He is a former 40 goal scorer who has gotten supremely unlucky in a number of years with injuries. With a lot of team apparently avoiding signing him at the present moment, the Sabres have the perfect opportunity to swoop in and sign him for cheap.

His recent seasons may have been mired with injuries (only 75 games played over the last three seasons) but there is still plenty of talent there; not to mention the fact that Laine has always thrived on the power play. When he is healthy, he is a legitimate scoring threat that could net the Sabres around 20-30 goals if they use him right. If he is unable to stay healthy, they will have only spent $1-million or less to sign him to a “prove it” deal before sending him back off into free agency, or keeping him for a bargain.

All three of these players would provide the Sabres with some low risk, high reward gameplay and scoring. They desperately need to get some proven scoring talent in their lineup, because if they are going to rely on the pure development of Jiri Kulich after having his medical issues, Noah Ostlund after a decent first NHL season, or Konsta Helenius after his great playoffs and international stints, they may be in for a tough time down the stretch.