Hey Hockeyworld, Happy free-agency eve! I'm just getting around to this now because it's been weird to process all the big moves Murray made for us this past weekend! Darcy never made huge moves like this so it's really amazing to see what Tim Murray has done for us in such a short period of time. For July 1st I think these are some guys we could go after:
Johnny Oduya
Oduya is a veteran left-shot defencemen with 2 Stanely cups under his belt and would be a great mentor for a guy like Mark Pysyk or Rasmus Ristolainen.
He is a nice stay at home guy and has good passing skill and a decent shot. Has also played with Bogo and Kane.
Paul Martin
Martin is another steady, stay at home guy, that new coach Dan Bylsma is comfortable with. I'm not a big Martin fan, but if Oduya would rather go to a guaranteed playoff team, he would be a good option #2.
Andrej Sekera
Lastly our old friend Andrej. I was not a fan on his first time around but would be a solid option until Jake McCabe is ready for full-time NHL duty.
A little more offensive then the other 2 options but a solid player.
Thoughts on the draft
Lehner is a great pick-up and underrated. I was a little like "what the?" for a little, but looked into him more, and said, if Murray believes in him so do I! I was jumping around when I heard the O'reilly announcement, he is a player I've been wanting us to pick up since his first contract debacle. I'm really exited for him! I think Legwand and Mcginn will be 3rd-4th line mentors and role players, I wouldn't sleep on Mcginn though. And of course our biggest pick-up on national Eichel day, Jack Eichel! The hype surrounding him since we got over our loss of McDavid has been huge! All of Buffalo was just really happy to finally see him slip on a Sabres jersey!
That's all I have for now, I'll be back with another blog in a week or 2 if Murray and friends do anything big. I love to hear your thoughts on this too. See ya soon, PEACE!