SABRES FILE FOR SALARY ARBITRATION WITH BYRAM
The Buffalo Sabres are in the midst of negotiations with restricted free agent defenseman Bowen Byram. While highly sought after in the trade market, the Sabres have made it clear that they have no issue keeping Byram and beginning the new year with him on the roster.
While Byram seeks a high value, long term contract, the Sabres have already spent more than $23.6 million on their defense core over the next five seasons. Rasmus Dahlin’s cap hit sits at $11 million per year, while Owen Power’s sits just under $8.5 million.
The wildcard is Mattias Samuelsson, who has already inked a contract worth just under $4.5 million per season until 2030. Samuelsson has been involved in some rumors this offseason regarding a potential buy out option, but General Manager Kevyn Adams shot that down at the Draft, saying that the team never even had the conversation about buying out the 25-year-old defenseman.
Whether that is the proper route of strategy or not, the Sabres are overloaded with left-shot defensemen, as Dahlin, Power, Samuelsson, and Byram are all lefties.
Adding to the budget, as acquired by the Sabres in the recent JJ Peterka trade, Michael Kesselring, a right-shot defenseman, has just one season left on his contract, worth $1.4 million, before becoming a restricted free agent himself. Even more so, Conor Timmins, another right-shot D-man, acquired in the recent Connor Clifton trade last month, is currently an RFA, awaiting a contract as well.
By sending Byram a qualifying offer before July 1, his rights are controlled by the Sabres, even without a contract in place ahead of the coming NHL season. On Saturday, Byram and his agent declined the opportunity to file for salary arbitration with the Sabres, which would allow a third-party arbiter to settle the dispute between the player and the team with a middle-ground contract to be agreed upon.
Yesterday, the Sabres elected to exercise their right to file for arbitration. This move gives Byram the right to choose a length for the contract to be hammered out, either one or two years. With a two-year contract, the 24-year-old Byram would set himself up to hit unrestricted free agency as that deal would expire in 2027. The aforementioned Conor Timmins elected to go to arbitration as well.
BLUE JAYS SOAR TO TOP OF AL EAST WITH HISTORIC HOMESTAND SWEEP
While fans in Buffalo took in the annual tradition at the ballpark of seeing the Bisons play ahead of a performance by the BPO and a fireworks display on the 3rd of July, baseball fans of the Bisons’ major league club saw an immaculate weekend. The Toronto Blue Jays are the hottest team in baseball, after a perfect homestand with sweeps over the Yankees and Angels.
Toronto had an average opening third to the season, hovering around a .500 record until June hit. Now, they lead the American League East Division, on an eight-game win streak, having won four consecutive series. Last week, the New York Yankees came to Toronto and left winless after four games for the first time ever. That’s right, believe it or not, that was the first time that the Blue Jays swept the Yankees in Toronto.
Since June 1, the Blue Jays offense has been elite, batting at .270 on average as a team over the last 31 games. In that span, however, Toronto’s pitching has been at its worst, statistically, since the season began, with a team ERA of 4.50. While the defense has lacked, the Jays have outscored their defensive shortfalls mightily in the last month. Of the “everyday” starters, eight Blue Jays have a batting average over .250, led by catcher Alejandro Kirk’s .301 average. Of the former Bisons, Vlad Guerrero Jr. leads the Blue Jays with a .381 On Base Percentage, while Bo Bichette is the only Toronto player to reach 100 hits on the season.
Recently, two players have been called up from Buffalo amidst the winning streak. Leo Jimenez and Joey Loperfido have each gotten some playing time with the Blue Jays over the last week to help fill out some depth spots while Toronto deals with minor injuries.
The Blue Jays are on the road tonight, beginning a three game series in Chicago against the White Sox, before heading to California for a stint against the Athletics. The first half of the season comes to an end with the MLB All Star Game, set for Tuesday July 15, in Atlanta.
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