Free agent defenseman Johnny Oduya is a left-handed, top-four d-man that Sabres GM Tim Murray was interested in bringing to Buffalo. But the two-time Stanley Cup winner took his talents to Dallas and signed a very team-friendly contract for two years at $3.75m/year. It's a veritable coup for the Stars as they add a veteran, top-four defenseman who fits into the up-tempo style of play Dallas plays.
"I think it's a very, very fast team, a team that wants to play hockey, a similar style I think as Chicago; wants to have the puck, create things," Oduya said. "I think the speed is the thing that stands out the most."
The Stars had recently traded for Oduya's teammate Patrick Sharp and in the process gave up 31 year old d-man Trevor Daley so things fell into place rather nicely for them.
As for the Sabres, the search for a top-four defensemen continues, be it a lefty or righty.
Word on the street is that Murray's in hot pursuit of 27 yr. old Cody Franson who has bounced back and forth between the "non-traditional hockey market" that is Nashville and the self-proclaimed "Centre of the Hockey Universe," Toronto, since being drafted by the Preds with the 79th-overall pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
At 6'5" 215 lbs. Franson has the size to be a presence in the d-zone but is looked upon more as an offensive defenseman who can run the powerplay.
Franson is the last viable free agent option for Murray this summer. Should he miss out, Murray will need to look to a trade if he wishes to add a top-four defenseman. Interesting to note that hockeybuzz's own Ryan Wilson has the Pittsburgh Penguins with a very strong interest in Franson. But, Wilson mentions, the Pens are tight against the cap and if they were to sign him, it's possible that F, Brandon Sutter or D, Rob Scuderi may need to be moved.
Scuderi provides an interesting scenario were he to be the one moved. The 36 yr. old is a two-time Stanley Cup Champ (PIT, 2009; LAK, 2012) who was instrumental in both Cup-runs. Age is starting to take over as he's pretty close to riding off into the sunset. Scuderi also has a modified no-trade clause according to generalfanager.com which would also come into play for Buffalo.
Perhaps it's best for Murray to sit on the sidelines this off season and into the preseason. Although the team has plenty of forward depth they'll need to sort through, there will still be a pretty high price to pay for the type of defenseman that Murray's looking for. As teams get closer to the start of the season, the salary cap will come into play and cap-casualties might be available. That being said, as we've found out, Murray will jump at the opportunity if it presents itself.
Buffalo's d-corps is beginning to take shape as Murray just re-signed defenseman Mark Pysyk to a two-year contract extension. Pysyk has been stuck in Rochester for the better part of the last two seasons as the team went through their bottoming out period. Although all parties had a scare when Pysyk collapsed for an unknown reason on February 28, 2015 he recovered well. Pysyk was initially thought to be out for the rest of the season as there was uncertainty regarding his collapse, but he willed himself back into the lineup.
"They did all the tests they could on me and nothing came back. They did tests of my heart, on my head, nothing," said the 23 yr. old
before returning to the Rochester lineup for the three-game finale to the season.
"He went through all the testing and all the protocols that wee needed to feel comfortable" said former Amerks head coach Chadd Cassidy at the time. "He's been pushing real hard to get back into the lineup and he wants to play badly so we're going to give him a shot as long as he's ready to go on Friday night." Pysyk was really put to the test as Cassidy had him playing big minutes in back-to-back-to-back games.
As it stands right now the Buffalo d-corps has six NHL'ers on the roster in Zach Bogosian, Rasmus Ristolainen, Josh Gorges, Pysyk, recently signed Carlo Colaiacovo and Mike Weber. They also have two others on the cusp in Chad Ruhwedel and Jake McCabe both of whom would be better served spending the majority of the season in Rochester playing big minutes.
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