The Buffalo Sabres acquisition of defenseman Conor Timmins from the Pittsburgh Penguins on NHL Draft weekend was due in part to the 26-year-old’s price point being less than Connor Clifton’s $3.33 million salary, but at the time of the trade, the Sabres did not know for certain what the righty defenseman would cost for next season.

The St. Catharines, ON native is an arbitration-eligible RFA and one year away from unrestricted free agency and according to a report from Puckpedia, Timmins hearing date will be on Saturday, August 2nd. The Sabres and agent Paul Capizzano are likely negotiating on a deal beforehand, but have less than two weeks before going into what usually is an adversarial process.  

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The club’s pairings to start the season are expected to be team captain Rasmus Dahlin playing with recently signed Bowen Byram, Owen Power playing with newly acquired righty Michael Kesselring, and Timmins playing with Mattias Samuelsson. The Sabres are currently fifth in the NHL at 34.6% of the cap allocated towards their blueline behind Washington, Vegas, Edmonton, and Columbus, and would have been near the top of the league had they kept Clifton,  who was slated to earn $3.33 million next season.

Timmins is coming off a 15-point season with Toronto and the Penguins, and it is expected that he will get a slight raise from his $1.1 million salary last season with the cap going up. That price point fits better with Timmins expected role as a bottom-pairing defender over Clifton.

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