Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres finished up a busy weekend in Montreal with three first-round selections and 11 picks overall at the 2022 NHL Draft.
The next phase of the 2022 offseason will be Sabres Development Camp, as well as NHL Free Agency with both beginning on Wednesday. In addition, the new league year will kick in on Wednesday, officially putting a bow on the 2021-22 campaign.
With free agency set to get underway in about 48 hours, Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams joined the "Howard and Jeremy Show" on Monday. Adams knows in order to build a long-term successful team in Buffalo, he has to play the free agent market smart and not make any rash decisions the tea, will regret in the future.
“I’ve said this and I am going to keep saying it, we need to develop our own and we need to retain our own,” Adams said with Howard Simon and Paul Hamilton.
While teams will be busy making additions to their roster with unrestricted free agency, the Sabres have four restricted free agents that will need new contracts by the start of the season. Adams confirmed on Monday that all four players - Victor Olofsson, Brett Murray, Arttu Ruotsalainen and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen - have received their qualifying offers from the team.
Another familiar name to the organization that could be returning to the North America, if permitted, is defensemen Lawrence Pilut. He's spent the past two seasons in Russia playing in the Kontinental Hockey League with Traktor Chelyabinsk. However, given the current state of the Russian conflict in Ukraine, it's been reported that the 26-year-old had his contract in the KHL terminated and he's interested in returning to the Sabres.
“We’d love to sign him," Adams said of the possibility of bringing the left-shot defenseman back next season. "He’s a very good puck mover and a skilled player that would fit in well with our depth chart.”
Adams says the only thing seemingly holding Pilut back from returning to the Sabres is the proper paperwork proving his contract in his KHL has been terminated.
Hear more of our conversation with Adams during the “Howard and Jeremy Show” in the player below:
