The Buffalo Sabres are seeing developments among their big-name players whose names are among the headlines.
Darren Dreger of TSN reports that Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram remains a hot commodity among trade scenarios. The 25-year-old left defenseman is entering the second year of a two-year deal at $6.25MM AAV. He finished his 2025-26 season scoring 42 points in 82 games, adding 7 points in Buffalo’s 13 playoff games. The former Stanley Cup Champion with the Colorado Avalanche has expressed his yearning to remain in a cup-contending market, which would play a factor in his decision of where to go, and Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen wants to keep him long-term. A projection of 7-years at $9.5MM from AFPAnalytics is where the value is, but the question is whether Byram wants to ride the wagon or hop off.
Amid the Alex Tuch talk, Buffalo has also circled back on him, according to Dreger. Darren Raddysh off the board makes Tuch the highest scoring free agent set for the market on July 1, as he scored 66 points making just $4.75MM this past season. If the Sabres want to keep their hometown guy, who brings a blend of power, speed, and goal scoring around, they’ll have to accommodate him handsomely, perhaps in the double digits of AAV. If that falls through, Bowen Byram’s trade value might need to be presentable for the return of a top-six forward the Sabres would need to replace.
Additional Notes:
According to Elliotte Friedman on 32 Thoughts, Sergei Bobrovsky‘s familiarity with a few Maple Leafs might give him an incentive to join forces in Toronto. Friedman said that Leafs GM John Chayka isn’t done with his big moves, while referring to recent acquisition Samuel Errson as unlikely to be signed, he named Bobrovsky as a possibility. Goaltender Anthony Stolarz and forward Steven Lorentz, two former teammates who know him extremely well, might be factors in making the 37-year-old Russian join up in Toronto. The benefit for the Leafs and their situation is that they have the $18MM in space to spend on the two-time Stanley Cup champion who posted a Panthers-worst .877 save percentage and 3.07 goals-against average in 52 games last year.
According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Seattle Kraken are continuing to rack up their screen time on the phone with other league GMs. After dealing for forward Mackie Samoskevich and signing forward Bobby McMann to a six-year extension, Jason Botterill is evaluating the future of former fourth overall pick Shane Wright, who enters the final year of his entry-level contract that pays him $886K annually. The Kraken have $22MM in cap space this summer and have many angles to approach with their 22-year-old center, who scored 27 points in 2025-26 after a career high 44 points the year before.