3 Potential NHL Buyout Candidates the Sabers Should Watch

Two days after the Stanley Cup Final, the NHL buyout period will begin, and with it, potential sleepers can be signed by a team like the Buffalo Sabres. Sure, sometimes players get bought out because they didn’t live up to expectations with their soon-to-be former teams, but that’s not always the case.

Organizations looking to build a long-term winner could buy out a player because it would make more financial sense than keeping him on their roster for a few more seasons. Knowing that not every player will be excluded, there will be at least a few hidden gems available after the Edmonton Oilers or Florida Panthers hoist the Stanley Cup.

Let’s look at three potential buyout candidates that could be a great fit for the Sabers once the second half of June rolls around.

Lars Eller may be an older player and will enter his season at age 35, but someone needs to start winning faceoffs for the Sabers when they are shorthanded and in the defensive zone. Eller might be someone who only spends one season at his next stop, but for the Blue and Gold, they might need a stopgap in the bottom six.

Eller may only have a career winning percentage of 50.2, but that number also stands at 53.0 over the last two seasons, or 166 games – he’s played in 84 regular season games in 2022-2023 for the Washington Capitals and the Colorado Avalanche. Eller is also a fair point producer for someone who would be on the lower lines in Buffalo in the event of a buyout and subsequent signing.

He finished last season with 31 points and 15 goals in 82 games and averaged 15:58 of total ice time. If he’s asked to contribute just 12 or 13 minutes in a place like Buffalo, there shouldn’t be too much of a drop in overall productivity, especially if the Sabers rediscover what made them such a successful team over the 2022 season. -23 season before dropping out last year.

His advanced stats were also encouraging, as Eller posted a Corsi percentage of 50.7 despite a starting offensive zone percentage of 26.3. He also posted an encouraging 91.9 percent on-ice save percentage in the defensive zone, and he scored two more goals than expected on the ice at even strength.