As NHL training camps open this week, Logan Stanley remains one of the more surprising names still without a contract.
The 28-year-old defenseman is out there skating with his former junior team, the Kitchener Rangers, while the market keeps moving around him. Carson Soucy has landed a professional tryout with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Nick Blankenburg has done the same with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and other veterans may still be waiting for the right injury opening early in the season. Stanley, though, is still unsigned.
That stands out because his stock looked like it should have been on the rise. Stanley put up a career-high 26 points last season, and with the free-agent defense market described as thin, there was a sense he could cash in on a deal with some term attached. Instead, that hasn’t materialized.
Buffalo acquired the big blueliner at last year’s trade deadline, bringing him in with Luke Schenn from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for Isak Rosen, Jacob Bryson, and two draft picks. Stanley had spent nearly six seasons with Winnipeg before that move.
Once in Buffalo, the 6-foot-7, 231-pound defenseman settled into a third-pairing role. He finished with five assists in 17 regular-season games and added eight of Buffalo’s 13 playoff games.
For now, the veteran appears to be waiting for the kind of situation that gives him a chance to play a lot and try to reset his market. The idea, at least as it stands, is that he could be looking for a one-year deal in a strong spot, build on that season, and go back to free agency next July. Whether that opportunity comes before opening night or not is still up in the air.
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Ostlund, the 16th overall pick in 2022, is now part of a broader roster plan that keeps several core pieces under team control through at least 2029-30. The length of the commitment says plenty about how the Sabres view his trajectory, and so does the structure of the deal, which gives him protections later on as Buffalo tries to build a more stable lineup around its young group. [Read more 🡒]
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The bigger issue now is where Kulich fits in a roster that still needs answers down the middle. Buffalos struggles at the faceoff dot last season made center a glaring area of concern, and Kulich is expected to get a real look for a top-line job when training camp opens. He will have to show he can handle that responsibility quickly, because the Sabres need more than just health here - they need a center who can help stabilize a key weakness. [Read more 🡒]
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The extension gives Buffalo another young piece to build around, and it also keeps Ostlund in the same conversation as the clubs other core names already under contract deep into the decade. For a team trying to stabilize its direction, the message here is clear: the Sabres are betting big that Ostlunds early promise is only the start. [Read more 🡒]