Sabres Daily: ’23 Free Agents “(Bleep)ing Awful”; Bratt Extended

The 2023 class of free agents was not thought to be a bumper crop, but one NHL executive quoted by ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski declared it “fucking awful”.

The goaltending group is headlined by Pittsburgh’s Tristan Jarry, the Carolina Hurricanes tandem of Frederik Andersen and Antti Raanta, and Semyon Varlamov of the NY Islanders.

Defensively, the top target will likely be Minnesota’s Matt Dumba, with Scott Mayfield of the Islanders, Radko Gudas of the Florida Panthers, and Dmitri Orlov of the Boston Bruins attracting considerable interest.

Happy Birthday Scott Mayfield! 🎂🎈 #isles @scottmayfield2 pic.twitter.com/5JdP4a4lOb

— 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐚 ✨ (@isleschick) October 14, 2020

Three-time Cup winners Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews both have health issues that may cloud interest and their availability for next season, and the most impactful forwards appear to be former Buffalo Sabres center Ryan O’Reilly and winger Vladimir Tarasenko.

These free agents may not draw the types of exorbitant salaries because the NHL’s salary cap will be going up $1 million for the third year in a row, but usually, even a thin crop of free agents still manages to get overpaid in the end.

Sabres In Case You Missed It

• Okposo On Eichel’s Exit From Buffalo; “He Stuck To His Guns”
• Is The Goalie Market Glut Too Good For Sabres To Pass Up?
• Sabres Need To Be Deft In Next Deal With Dahlin, Power
• Draft Prospect Wood Drawing Comparisons To Tage Thompson
• Barkley Not Recognized By Eichel
• Will Sabres Use Available Cap Room To Make Big Summer Move 
• Sabres Lacking Couple Pieces To Match Vegas Model
• What Could The Sabres Get In Return For Olofsson?
• Are The Sabres Checking In On Brett Pesce?
• Will Buffalo Qualify Tyson Jost?

Bratt Hits It Big

The New Jersey Devils seem to be following the same pattern as the Sabres in locking up their young core group on long-term deals. On Thursday, the Devils signed winger Jesper Bratt to an eight-year, $63 million deal ($7.875 million AAV). The 24-year-0ld tied a career-high with 73 points (32 goals, 41 assists) last season. New Jersey now has former top overall picks Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier under contract for multiple years, along with defenseman Dougie Hamilton.

Jesper Bratt will be spending the next eight seasons in the Garden State.

How would you grade the contract for Bratt and the @NJDevils? @EJHradek_NHL | @KenDaneykoMSG | @Rupper17 | #NJDevils | #NHLNow pic.twitter.com/7pPGjo9EyL

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) June 15, 2023

Hockey Now Network

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Chicago: Hawks Re-Sign Athanasiou To Two-Year Deal (Chicago Blackhawks)

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Montreal: Canadiens Request Mailloux Meet With NHL, Discuss Future (Montreal Canadiens)

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Philadelphia: Briere Says Landing Another First-Round Pick Was Key To Provorov Trade (Philadelphia Flyers)

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