Buffalo Sabres
| Available | Age | 17/18 | Automatically Exempt |
| F Ryan O’Reilly | 25 | $7.5M | F Jack Eichel |
| F Kyle Okposo (NMC) | 28 | $6.0M | F Hudson Fasching |
| F Evander Kane | 25 | $5.25M | F Sam Reinhart |
| F Matt Moulson | 32 | $5.0M | F Alex Nylander |
| F Tyler Ennis | 27 | $4.6M | F Eric Cornel |
| F Brian Gionta | 37 | UFA | F Vaclav Karabacek |
| F Marcus Foligno | 25 | RFA | F Evan Rodrigues |
| F Cody McCormick | 33 | UFA | F Nicholas Baptiste |
| F Zemgus Girgensons | 22 | RFA | F Justin Bailey |
| F Johan Larsson | 24 | RFA | F Jean Dupuy |
| F Nicolas Deslauriers | 25 | $775K | F William Carrier |
| F Cal O’Reilly | 30 | UFA | |
| F Cole Schneider | 26 | RFA | D Casey Nelson |
| F Justin Kea | 22 | RFA | D Brendan Guhle |
| F Daniel Catenacci | 23 | RFA | D Brycen Martin |
| D Erik Burgdoerfer | |||
| G Jason Kasdorf | |||
| D Rasmus Ristolainen | 21 | $5.4M | |
| D Zach Bogosian | 26 | $5.143M | |
| D Dmitry Kulikov | 25 | UFA | |
| D Josh Gorges | 32 | $3.9M | |
| D Cody Franson | 29 | UFA | |
| D Jake McCabe | 23 | $1.6M | |
| D Justin Falk | 28 | UFA | |
| D Taylor Fedun | 28 | UFA | |
| D Brady Austin | 23 | RFA | |
| G Robin Lehner | 25 | RFA | |
| G Anders Nilsson | 26 | UFA | |
| G Linus Ullmark | 23 | RFA |
| Ryan | Matt | Suraj |
| 4 – 4 – 1 | 4 – 4 – 1 | 4 – 4 – 1 |
| F Kyle Okposo (NMC) | F Kyle Okposo (NMC) | F Kyle Okposo (NMC) |
| F Ryan O’Reilly | F Tyler Ennis | F Ryan O’Reilly |
| F Evander Kane | F Zemgus Girgensons | F Evander Kane |
| F Zemgus Girgensons | F Evander Kane | F Zemgus Girgensons |
| D Rasmus Ristolainen | D Rasmus Ristolainen | D Rasmus Ristolainen |
| D Zach Bogosian | D Zach Bogosian | D Zach Bogosian |
| D Dmitry Kulikov | D Dmitry Kulikov | D Dmitry Kulikov |
| D Jake McCabe | D Jake McCabe | D Jake McCabe |
| G Robin Lehner | G Robin Lehner | G Robin Lehner |
As you can see, we all tend to agree that Buffalo will have no choice but to protect four defensemen, despite Kulikov’s UFA status – the Sabres need to protect their investment. That puts them in a tough spot regarding who to save up front. One way or another, it seems Buffalo is destined to lose a forward.
Protection Lists:
Even though Dmitry Kulikov is slated to become a UFA, it’s important to get him protected. Some fans on social media have suggested the Sabres could circumvent the system with a pre-arrangement ensuring a refusal to sign with the expansion club, but those are the type of curious situations that can get the league involved. No instead, we protect Bogosian, Ristolainen, Kulikov, and McCabe, leaving four spots up front. Okposo and O’Reilly are locks, but debate could occur on those other two spots. Although it’s unlikely Las Vegas would have interest in Kane’s character issues, it’s too much of a risk to leave him exposed. With the last spot, I’ve chosen to protect a young 1st rounder still looking to reach his ceiling. It’s not easy leaving Marcus Foligno exposed as he would be the perfect target for Vegas.
– Ryan Ritchie
Q: For a second month in a row, you’ve opted to leave Sabres F Ryan O’Reilly exposed. What is the thought process behind that decision?
The reason why I leave O’Reilly exposed is for one reason, Eichel. He’s going to be taking over that team and a player of his skill level is also going to receive a huge pay raise. So when you got two centers making well over $5 million (eventually Eichel will be) and with how much Buffalo is spending on wingers and defense, something has to happen or someone has to go. And O’Reilly seems like the more viable option. You could argue well two top centers is also better than one, while this is often true, for instance Crosby and Malkin. Pittsburgh has had to re tool their team every 3-4 years so it’s not always good. That’s why I choose to leave Ryan unprotected another reason too is because Buffalo can get a solid return for him at the deadline if they wish they go this route. Because like it or not, Eichel was drafted to be that guy, and leaving him on the second line for the next however many years, isn’t really doing him any good, and moving him to the top and O’Reilly on the second, you in turn have a player making north of $7 million on the second line who has a history with injuries.
– Matt Duscharme