The Buffalo Sabres are making noise again, and this offseason has only sharpened the idea that they’re trying to turn last year’s playoff breakthrough into something bigger. After snapping a 15-year postseason drought, Buffalo has stayed active, and general manager Jarmo Kekkalainen has clearly not been content to sit back.
One of the biggest moves came with restricted free agent Peyton Krebs, who signed a four-year deal carrying a $4.5 million average annual value. Krebs delivered career-best regular season production and added six points in the Sabres’ playoff run, giving Buffalo a player who proved he could fill different roles. The former Vegas first-round pick spent this season working both as a fourth-line center and on the top line wing, and that kind of flexibility helped earn him a significant raise after four years in Western New York.
While Sabres fans have plenty to talk about, Red Wings fans have mostly watched a quieter start to free agency on the NHL side. The same can’t be said for Grand Rapids.
Detroit’s AHL club has been busy reshaping its depth after losing players such as Amadeus Lombardi, Eduards Tralmaks and Erik Gustafsson. Over the past week, the Griffins added former University of Michigan captain Nolan Moyle, then followed that up with the signings of Ronnie Attard and Kaden Bohlsen.
Those additions should give some cover for rookie goalie Trey Augustine as he begins his first pro season. The former Michigan State standout is walking into a setup where expectations will be high, especially with both of Detroit’s top two netminders signed only through the end of next season.
For now, Augustine and Michal Postava look like the likely tandem in Grand Rapids. Still, there’s at least a chance Augustine could wind up sharing the crease with someone else if Postava proves he’s ready for the next level.
Elsewhere, Bob Duff wrote about why Detroit’s PWHL team is becoming the model for roster building in Hockeytown.
And on the Red Wings side, Carter Mazur is still working through a long road to NHL minutes. After a couple of false starts over the past two years, Mazur now appears poised to become a regular in the bottom half of Detroit’s forward group. He recently spoke with Red Wings team media about the chance to play as an NHL regular for his hometown team after signing a two-year extension earlier this offseason.
The latest Hurricanes additions are Jesper Boqvist and Evan Rodrigues, according to James Nichols.
In Other News...
Dylan Larkin Suddenly Looms Over One Massive Red Wings Question
The Red Wings have spent the summer watching a lot of noise swirl around other teams and other names, from Montreals reported lack of real interest in Anthony Mantha to the Predators having to trim a crowded roster and sort through trade possibilities. Even the Patrick Kane speculation has kept the rumor mill busy elsewhere, while Detroit has remained in a familiar spot where the biggest questions are still about the shape of its own roster and whether the club has done enough to move closer to contention.
What makes Dylan Larkin suddenly loom over all of it is the possibility that the dynamic around Detroit could change if Steve Yzerman is no longer the one steering the front office. The Red Wings have not exactly made offseason moves that scream playoff push, so any shift at the top would naturally send a ripple through the organization and back toward its captain. For a team still trying to define its next step, that kind of uncertainty is hard to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Steve Yzerman Just Forced A Massive Red Wings Turning Point
The offseason around the Red Wings keeps getting busier, and one of the more notable moves came in Winnipeg, where Cole Perfetti landed a five-year extension that keeps him in place through the 2030-31 season. It is the kind of long-term commitment that helps a team settle its core, and it comes as Detroit continues to navigate a very different kind of uncertainty at the top of its own organization.
Edmonton also made a significant swing in reshaping its goaltending picture, adding Tristan Jarry, Devon Levi and Frederik Andersen to a roster that now looks markedly different in net. For Detroit, the bigger question is what comes next in its front office search, with the organization now weighing its options and trying to determine who will guide the next phase of the rebuild. [Read more 🡒]
Three Forgotten Red Wings Defense Prospects Still Matter More Than Fans Think
A few of the Red Wings 2023 draft defensemen have kept moving along in college hockey this season, even if they have slipped out of the daily conversation around Detroits prospect pool. Larry Keenan at UMass, Jack Phelan at Wisconsin and Brady Cleveland at Minnesota Duluth have all carved out meaningful roles, with each one showing the kind of defensive growth that keeps pro teams watching closely.
Keenan has added offense to his game while still handling the work that matters most in his own end, Phelan has settled in as a dependable stay-at-home presence, and Cleveland continues to bring the size and edge that made him such an intriguing pick in the first place. None of that guarantees a quick path to the NHL, but it does mean Detroit still has three blue-line projects worth tracking as their college seasons unfold and the club weighs future contract decisions. [Read more 🡒]