Sabres Daily: Loading Up On Depth Goalies; Korpisalo Signs With Sens

The Buffalo Sabres made a number of moves to shore up their defense on the opening day of free agency, signing veteran blueliner Erik Johnson to a one-year deal and former Boston Bruins defenseman Connor Clifton to a three-year $10 million contract. The same cannot be said for their goaltending, as the club on Day 1 chose to add depth goalies in the organization.

We have signed goaltender Dustin Tokarski to a one-year, two-way contract worth $775,000.

Details: https://t.co/p8rhMTEe8x pic.twitter.com/flYVDX9zdC

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) July 1, 2023

The club brought back veteran goalies Dustin Tokarski, Devin Cooley, and Michael Houser on one-year deals, shoring up the depth in Rochester and their undetermined ECHL affiliate, but did not add a goalie that could challenge or share the workload with presumptive starting goalie Devon Levi. Tokarski spent two seasons with Buffalo from 2020-2022 and along with Cooley will likely be the tandem in Rochester replacing the departed Malcolm Subban. Houser will likely be on standby in the ECHL if the injuries between the pipes.

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• Girgensons Re-Signed To Preserve Sabres Leadership Group
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• Biggest Questions For Atlantic Division Rivals
• Sabres Shifting Interest To Hanifin?
• The Hockey Now 2023 Mock Draft 
• Could Johnson Be The Sabres Blueline Fallback Option?
• Sabres Opt For Familiarity With Selection Of Benson
• Sabres Select Wahlberg, Strbak In The Second Round 
• Sabres Sign Johnson, Clifton To Bolster Defense; Re-Sign Jost

Atlantic Add Goalies

The Sabres division rivals addressed their goaltending needs in a more substantial way on Saturday. The Ottawa Senators signed free agent netminder Joonas Korpisalo to a five-year, $2o million deal to be their primary starter, while the Detroit Red Wings backed up Ville Husso with the signings of veterans James Reimer and Alex Lyon on one-year deals.

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