The NHL's free-agency period commenced Tuesday, and the team this THN.com site is centered around, the Buffalo Sabres, took their crack at trying to improve by signing a handful of players to help get them into the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 15 years. Unfortunately, the handful of signings in question from the Sabres were almost exclusively an exercise in mediocrity.

The Sabres spent $5-million of their salary cap space on RFA center Ryan McLeod, who had his first 20-goal season in 2024-25. McLeod still has upside, but until he asserts himself as a consistent contributor from year-to-year, the 25-year-old can't be counted on to carry the Sabres. Similarly, Buffalo's new contracts for winger Ryan Johnson (three years, $775,00 per season), center Tyson Kozak (three years, $775,000 per), right winger Justin Danforth, (two years, $1.8 million per), defenseman Mason Geersten (two years, $1.155 million per) and goaltender Alex Lyon (two years, $1.5 million per) for the most part were categorized as investments in the possibility rather than the probability.

That reality, though, does not prevent Buffalo from erring on the side of caution by spending to the cap upper ceiling. The Sabres should be spending every penny of their available salary cap space, but as of Tuesday evening, Buffalo still had $13.76 million in cap space. It sure feels like there's an internal budget that's not the same as the league's maximum budget.

And that's where you can understand why Sabres fans are so disillusioned at the moment. Ownership may be keeping the team in town, but they need to be keeping up with the Joneses. And that's sure not the feeling after a day in which there were still some above-average players available.

For instance, why not take a chance on a star like Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers? Granted, he doesn't have as much impact in the playoffs than he does in the regular-season, but who's kidding who here -- if Ehlers can help[ score the Sabres into the playoffs at long last, he'll be worth the investment Buffalo makes in him.

Sabres Deals Addressed Needs, But Were Budget-ConsciousThe Buffalo Sabres made a pair of trades before and during the 2025 NHL Draft in Los Angeles which were as much about changing the makeup of the roster as they were about trimming the budget of the club in advance of the beginning of free agency on July 1. 

Similarly, why shouldn't the Sabres take a run at Vancouver Canucks center Pius Suter? There's someone with speed and soft hands who also can contribute offense. The fact that neither one of Ehlers or Suter has been signed yet doesn't take away from their value. It could be an effort and strategy by their represenatives to drum up a bigger market for teams that don't come away with the big fish prizes of free agency.

If that doesn't pan out, the Sabres should be one of the most aggressive, if not the most aggressive team on the trade front this summer. Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams can't be satisfied with the fringe signings he made on Tuesday. He has to keep improving his lineup, right through training camp and well into the season. Because if he sits on his wallet the rest of the way, it will be duly noted by Sabres fans and regular-obeservers alike.

If all Adams does is to change the periphery of the lineup, we'll be able to tell so by the fact he doesn't bring in proven veterans to help out the youngsters. You can only address your third and fourth lines and your third-pair on 'D' for so long before it becomes apparent you're either unwilling or unable to take knives to the more talented area of the roster.

After Sabres' Latest Trade, Don't Expect Much From New Buffalo DefensemanThe Buffalo Sabres made a trade Saturday, but it wasn't the trade many were expecting, as star defenseman Bowen Byram remained a Sabre, at least, for the time being. However, Sabres GM Kevyn Adams reshaped his defense corps by

Adams needs to convince ownership that using all of Buffalo's cap space is important. And if at that stage Sabres ownership isn't prepared to do so, there are bigger issues at play in Western New York. Buffalo has to approach the coming season with more urgency than ever, and that means  using every dollar in their employ to bulk up the overall skill level as highly as possible.

The Pittsburgh Penguins stayed busy on Tuesday after re-signing forwards Philip Tomasino and Connor Dewar. 

They agreed to two-year contracts with forward Justin Brazeau and defensemen Parker Wotherspoon and Caleb Jones. The Brazeau and Wotherspoon contracts were reported earlier in the day, unlike the Jones one. 

Jones inked a two-year $1.8 million contract with the Penguins. The deal has an average annual value of $900,000. 

Jones spent most of the 2024-25 season with the Ontario Reign, the Los Angeles Kings' AHL affiliate. He played in 44 games for the Reign, finishing with two goals and 21 points. 

He suited up in six games for the Kings, producing no points. 

Triples is best...

The Penguins have signed forward Justin Brazeau as well as defensemen Parker Wotherspoon and Caleb Jones to two-year contracts.

Details: https://t.co/LF5UvmxyUQpic.twitter.com/Z4mdxVhBHl

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) July 1, 2025

Before his stint with the Kings, he spent one season with the Colorado Avalanche, two with the Chicago Blackhawks, and three with the Edmonton Oilers. He has appeared in 248 regular-season games, compiling 14 goals and 55 points. 

Jones has also skated in 181 regular-season AHL games, totaling 13 goals and 84 points. He will compete for a roster spot when training camp opens in September. 

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Feature image credit:  Stephen R. Sylvanie-Imagn Images

The Vegas Golden Knights have confirmed and announced the signings of Reilly Smith, Brandon Saad, Dylan Coghlan,  Cole Reinhardt and Jaycob Megna.

Smith and Saad were acquired midseason by the Golden Knights and have each signed one-year, $2-million contracts. Smith, a long-time Golden Knight, scored three goals and 11 points in 21 games after he was acquired from the New York Rangers.

Saad and the St. Louis Blues agreed to a mutual contract termination prior to the 32-year-old's signing with the Golden Knights. He went on to record six goals and 14 points in 29 games, providing offensive production in the middle of the Golden Knights' lineup.

Coghlan was once a Golden Knight, playing 88 games over the course of two seasons. Since departing, the 27-year-old has played just 24 NHL games in three seasons. Coghlan's deal is a one-way contract which will pay him $775,000. He'll provide the Golden Knights with another right-handed shot on the back end. 

Reinhardt is a 25-year-old left-handed forward with 18 games of NHL experience under his belt. With the Ottawa Senators this season, Reinhardt scored a goal and two points in 17 games, but in the AHL, he recorded 14 goals and 32 points in 45 games. Reinhardt will be with the organization for the next seasons. 

Golden Knights Extend Qualifying Offers To Five PlayersThe Vegas Golden Knights have extended qualifying offers to five players, maintaining their restricted free-agent rights. The five players include Lukas Cormier, Alexander Holtz, Raphael Lavoie, Jonas Rondbjerg and Cole Schwindt. 

The final player the Golden Knights announced as a new signing was 6'6, 32-year-old defenseman Jaycob Megna. Megna played just eight games with the Florida Panthers this season and has played less than 200 career NHL games, but he provides the Golden Knights with additional size and physicality on the blue line. Like Reinhardt, Megna is signed for the next two seasons on a one-way contract, which will pay him $800,000.

The Golden Knights have been very busy throughout the first day of free agency, signing a superstar in Mitch Marner and assuring their depth.

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REPORT: Golden Knights Interested In Trading For A Pair Of DefensemenThe Vegas Golden Knights are reportedly interested in trading for defensemen Rasmus Andersson and Bowen Byram.

Confirmed: Golden Knights Complete Sign-and-Trade For Mitch MarnerAfter a long saga with several curveballs and rumors, the Vegas Golden Knights have finally got their man, completing a sign-and-trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which will see Mitch Marner sign with the Golden Knights on an eight-year, $12-million AAV deal, and Nicolas Roy join the Maple Leafs. 

It was a busy day in the NHL on Tuesday when free agency officially began at noon ET. While the New Jersey Devils added Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov to their roster, they saw numerous former players on the move. 

After not being extended a qualifying offer from the Devils, forward Nolan Foote signed with the Florida Panthers as an unrestricted free agent. The 24-year-old spent the majority of the 2024-25 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Utica Comets. There, he collected 39 points (18 goals, 21 assists), which was the third-most on the team behind Ryan Schmelzer and Brian Halonen. With the Devils, he appeared in seven games, earning one assist.

Veteran center Justin Dowling is taking his game across the Hudson River to suit up for the New York Rangers for the next two seasons. It’s a one-way deal the first year, two-way the second year. During the first season, Dowling will earn $775,000, and he will make $775,000 during the second season, when he reaches the NHL level, with a minimum of $450,000.  With the Devils, the 34-year-old appeared in a single-season high of 52 games. 

Goaltender Vitek Vanecek signed a one-year contract with an average annual value (AAV) of $1.5 million with the Utah Mammoth. The 29-year-old was a member of the Florida Panthers and hoisted the Stanley Cup for the first time in his career. He split the regular season between the Panthers and San Jose Sharks, earning a 5-14-4 record, 3.62 goals-against average, and .884 save percentage.

We have signed goaltender Vitek Vaněček to a one-year contract. pic.twitter.com/aogrHyyYix

— Utah Mammoth (@utahmammoth) July 1, 2025

Speaking of goaltenders, former Devils netminder Kaapo Kahkonen signed a one-year deal with the Montreal Canadiens for the 2025-26 season. The 28-year-old appeared in one game in the NHL last season with the Colorado Avalanche. He spent the majority of the time in the American Hockey League (AHL) split between the Colorado Eagles, Manitoba Moose, and Charlotte Checkers, where he put up a 14-20-1-1 record with a 2.91 goals-against average and a .894 save percentage.

Tuesday afternoon marked a reunion in New York as the Buffalo Sabres, coached by Lindy Ruff, signed Mason Geertsen to a two-year, two-way contract worth an average annual value of $775,000. He has played 25 career NHL games, all as a member of the Devils in the 2021-22 campaign under Ruff. 

Make sure you bookmark THN's New Jersey Devils site for THN's latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more.

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Photo Credit: © Matt Blewett-Imagn Images

The Carolina Hurricanes made one of the biggest splashes of the day, trading a conditional first-round pick, a second-round pick and rookie defenseman Scott Morrow to the New York Rangers in exchange for defenseman K'Andre Miller.

(The trade and deal for Miller was first reported by Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman and the details of the return to the Rangers was first reported by New York Post's Larry Brooks.)

The deal is also a sign-and-trade as Miller, a pending RFA, comes over fresh off of signing an eight-year, $60 million extension.

"K'Andre is a defenseman who we feel is a very strong fit for the way we play," said Carolina GM Eric Tulsky. "He is just approaching his prime and we are confident that he will excel in a Hurricanes sweater.”

Miller, 25, is a towering defenseman, standing at 6-foot-5, who's also one of the better skaters in the league.

The blueliner has a strong first touch and great transitional skills, able to jump into plays and lead and facilitate the rush, things the Hurricanes really emphasize in their system.

Miller's game looks like it will perfectly fit and complement Carolina's style, now the only question is if he can elevate that game.

A few seasons prior, Miller looked to be on a meteoric rise as a true top-end, two-way defender.

However, the 25 year old has struggled a bit more in the past two seasons, especially when it came to his rush defense and entry denials.

He has a great stick and long reach, so it's baffling that those were the things he struggled with in New York. He had really good penalty kill numbers, but 5v5 wasn't always pretty.

Perhaps part of those struggles can also be attributed to the revolving door of coaches that the Rangers have brought in. Miller hasn't had any sort of stability in New York in that regard, so perhaps an established team and culture like Carolina's can bring out his best.

Miller has a lot of raw potential with his size and the flashes of brilliance he's shown, so the Canes are willing to take a gamble on that upside in their system.

And hey, the last time the Hurricanes traded a first-round pick to New York for a left-handed defenseman, it worked out pretty well (looking at you Brady Skjei).

Going the other way to New York is a conditional 2026 first (top-10 protected and then the better between Dallas and Carolina's), a 2026 second and Scott Morrow.

Morrow, 22, showed a lot of potential, but it seemed clear to me that he wasn't going to cut it in Carolina's system.

An offensive defenseman, Morrow has good instincts, but he struggled with the speed of the NHL and his skating leaves much to be desired.

He's the type of player who struggles to recover if he makes a mistake and his gap control was rather poor too.

Obviously he's only 22 and could still develop into a really good NHL player, he was named to the AHL's Top Prospect Team this season and put up consistent points in both the NHL and AHL during the regular season.

But the fact of the matter is that the Canes are a better team today with Miller than with Morrow.

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The Vancouver Canucks’ third free agent signing of the day was Jimmy Schuldt, who the team signed to a two-year, two-way contract. His signing was announced at the same time as new (and old) Canucks Mackenzie MacEachern and Joseph LaBate. 

Schuldt, an undrafted defenceman, played for St. Cloud State University for four seasons and captained the team for three of them. In this span of time, he scored 38 goals and 80 assists in 156 games, including a season that saw him tally 35 points in 36 games. After this, he made his NHL debut with the Vegas Golden Knights, adding an assist in the lone game on April 6, 2019. 

After this, Schuldt spent five seasons in the AHL — one with the Chicago Wolves (2019–20), one with the Henderson Silver Knights (2020–21), one with the Rochester Americans (2021–22), and two with the Coachella Valley Firebirds (2022–24). In the 2022–23 season, he scored eight goals and 24 assists in 71 of the Firebirds’ games. In the team’s Calder Cup campaign that saw them lose to the Hershey Bears in the Finals, Schuldt posted five goals and four assists in 26 games. 

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Schuldt returned to the NHL in the 2024–25 season, signing a one-year contract with the San Jose Sharks last season. He played in eight games for the Sharks and spent the rest of the season with the team’s AHL affiliate, the San Jose Barracuda. In 64 AHL games, Schuldt put up six goals and 15 assists. 

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