NHL FREE AGENCY
The Free Agency period opened yesterday in the National Hockey League, and the Sabres and Maple Leafs have gotten involved.
Maple Leafs make trades ahead of Free Agency window opening, re-sign key forwards
On Monday, before the free agency window opened, Toronto parted ways with Mitch Marner, trading the pending free agent to Vegas with an 8-year extension in place with the Golden Knights. Coming off a 102-point season, the 28-year-old winger was likely to not re-sign in Toronto, so for the Maple Leafs to get Nic Roy in return, at least they got some value back. Roy, a 28-year-old center, is a defensive forward who will help fill out the Maple Leafs bottom-six forwards for the final two years of his contract.
In a subsequent move, the Maple Leafs acquired 24-year-old winger Matias Maccelli in a trade with the Utah Mammoth. The former 4th round draft pick of the Arizona Coyotes was injured for part of last season, missing nearly 30 games with the Mammoth. Toronto will hope the 5-foot-11 forward can return to his scoring form of two seasons ago, when Maccelli posted a career high 17 goals and 57 points in a full 82 game season with Arizona.
Perhaps their biggest move of the offseason thus far has been the extension of forward Matthew Knies, who signed a six-year contract worth an average of just under $8 million per year. The 22-year-old proved his value with a breakout campaign this past season, scoring 29 goals and 58 points in just his second full NHL season.
Joining Knies, forward Steven Lorentz inked a contract extension in Toronto, signing a three-year deal worth $1.35 million per season. In his first year with the Maple Leafs, after signing a one-year deal last summer as a free agent, Lorentz fit in neatly as a depth centerman, notching 19 points and posting a plus/minus rating of +6 in 80 regular season games.
Sabres nearly silent as Free Agency opens July 1
It was a quiet July 1 for the Buffalo Sabres, who re-signed a couple of their own restricted free agents, but didn’t make a splash, aside from a “dipping of the toe” into the unrestricted free agent waters. The biggest moves Buffalo made yesterday was re-signing their own players.
Center Ryan McLeod got the biggest payday, inking a four-year, $20 million deal. Last offseason, the Sabres acquired McLeod from Edmonton in a deal that sent former first round pick Matt Savoie to the Oilers. McLeod posted 20 goals and 53 points this past season, each a career-high. Buffalo’s lineup down the middle now projects to be Jiri Kulich, Josh Norris, McLeod, and Peyton Krebs.
On the back end, defenseman Ryan Johnson signed a three-year contract extension. The restricted free agent had spent a majority of last season in Rochester, playing in 66 games at the American Hockey League level. As a steady two-way defensive presence, Johnson has seldom been given a chance to prove his worth as a full-time NHLer. In two seasons, the now 23-year-old has played in 44 games with the Sabres, posting seven assists.
With the recent moves Buffalo has made to their defensive core, and the expectation that Bowen Byram will be either traded or signed to an offer sheet by another team, the Sabres bottom pairing is currently wide open, which could be the opportunity Johnson has been looking for. The final two defensive spots, at the time of this recording, are up for grabs between Johnson, Mattias Samuelsson, and Jacob Bryson.
Back-stopping the Sabres will be Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, who enters the second season of his five-year, $4.75 million per year contract. Behind him as a starter, though, the Sabres backup position is not set in stone by any means. Devon Levi, who is still a restricted free agent that Buffalo sent a qualifying offer to, posted great numbers with the Rochester Americans last season. In 42 AHL games, Levi ranked fifth among starters with a .919 save percentage, however, in nine NHL games with the Sabres last season, Levi had an abysmal .872 save percentage.
In an effort to both create competition and provide depth in goal, the Sabres only free agent signing yesterday (expected to make the NHL roster) was goaltender Alex Lyon, who inked a 2-year contract worth $3 million in total.
Currently, the Sabres are negotiating with three restricted free agents who have received qualifying offers: Bowen Byram, Conor Timmins, and Devon Levi.
BLUE JAYS TWO WINS VS YANKEES AWAY FROM FIRST PLACE
The Toronto Blue Jays are inching toward the top of the AL East standings after taking the first two games of their series against the division-leading New York Yankees. The four-game series in Toronto opened Monday night with a 5-4 come-from-behind rally from the Blue Jays, thanks to a monstrous sixth inning. Last night, after a lengthy delay, the Blue Jays won game two in resounding fashion, with a 12-5 final score, lifted by three home runs.
The Blue Jays sit just one game back of the Yankees for first place in the AL East, a spot seldom won by the Blue Jays in the last few decades. In fact, the only time Toronto won the AL East since 1993 was in 2015, when the Blue Jays appeared in the ALCS. With a sweep of the Yankees this series, the Blue Jays could be in sole possession of the top spot in the division.
Game three of the homestand continues tonight in Toronto, first pitch at 7:00 p.m. The series concludes tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. as well, before the LA Angels come North of the border for a three-game slate over the weekend.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
