Random Sabres FA Thoughts

The Free Agent market is not overloaded with much talent this summer. When the second center to appear on the list on NHL Numbers is Tim Connolly, you know that the talent pool is a little dry (sorry Timmy). I asked my girlfriend yesterday if she could help me come up with some guys that she would like to see us sign and she gave me a few interesting ideas; some being guys that everyone is talking about (like Brad Richards or Zach Parise) and then ones that may fit in our system (like Jussi Jokinen or Keith Yandle). I picked a few suggestions to talk about today just to get the ideas flowing and perhaps get us all excited for next Friday.

First, I’ll talk about Jussi Jokinen.

Yes, I realize that we have an abundance of wingers on this team as it is, but I think that Jokinen could be a good second line winger if need be. If you look at his point totals for the past five seasons or so, his numbers increased a TON when he was traded from the Lightning to the Hurricanes. He’s only had one thirty goal season in his career, but I like his assist totals. If he could rack up 40-50 points a season then I would be happy with that. A big part of Jokinen’s game is – yes – the shootout. If there was not a shootout in hockey then no one would care. We have Stafford and Vanek on this team who have proved themselves worthy of going out for a shootout (Vanek just recently) but if those two failed, we don’t really have other guys who could perform well one-on-one consistently. Jokinen has a 54.3% success rate in his career. A little more than half a chance he’ll score? I’ll take that in games that are decided in the shootout. He’s had a little experience in the playoffs with Carolina and put up a decent amount of points. I think the Sabres should keep him on the radar…even if he is a former Hurricane AND Star. Blah. He’s a UFA this summer and previously made $1.9 million. I think we could get him for a similar price. Not anymore than $3 million.

Secondly, a ‘WTF, we could never get this guy’ selection! Shea Weber.

Beard not included unless it’s the playoffs.

It’s pretty much a fact that both the Predators organization and Weber want to get something done between the two of them so this probably wouldn’t even come close to happening. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if they got a deal done before next week. Weber is a large part of the success in Nashville and I can’t see the team parting with their captain and one of their biggest contributors. Within just this season alone, he had 211 hits which was in the Top 20 of the league and important in the Western Conference, where gritty play is a must. An addition to an Eastern team would certainly be cool and provide more hard hitting in this conference as opposed to the high scoring we always see. Of course, if Winnipeg getting an NHL team means that Nashville is possibly moving to the East then this would still go down. He made $4.5 million this past season. He would cost a steep price and even with Pegula Power having the reigns, I don’t know if signing him for that much would be a good idea if we want to keep young guys on this team. I would pass over Shea but thinking of a NHL that lacks a salary cap and logical reasoning is still fun.

Last but not least, a guy who I have watched frequently over the past few seasons – Kevin Bieksa.

With Vancouver making it all the way to game seven of the Cup Finals, this guy is going to get a pay raise no matter what. He was key in the San Jose series; scoring the overtime winner in game five that took the Canucks to the Finals. A huge downfall of Bieksa’s game is that he has been hurt quite often in the past with some weird injuries. This isn’t like Connolly injuries where he has a hairline fracture and you question yourself how something like that could happen, but he gets them in the same areas. He has been sliced in the leg twice (both serious) and had a fractured foot just this past year. Regardless, the guy eats up a lot of minutes and honestly, I would drool a little at the thought of a Bieksa-Myers pairing because then they could just wreck lives. It would be awesome. Don’t even bother putting the other defensemen out there. He’s a fighter too and will drop the gloves when need be. I feel like he would perhaps be our toughest defenseman. Look at how Rivet had worked out…never winning a fight. Ouch. No, I’m pretty sure I’ve watched Bieksa win some fights very easily. Him and Myers would be strong as two offensive defensemen. I’m just sitting here and imagining the shots from the blueline on the power play. Magical.

That’s only a few of the guys who we could possibly think of trying to get. What are your thoughts? Any other players who you’d like to see in a Sabres uniform? Unrealistic acquirements are allowed to be discussed as well – it’s fun to think about during the offseason! Also, mucho thanks to @Lefty824 on Twitter for helping me with research and such. Most stats I shelled out came from her doing some work for me after I requested it.