The double-barreled offer to Philip Broberg and Dylan Holloway by St. Louis took the NHL and the Edmonton Oilers by surprise, but with only a few weeks before training camp, there are still a number of attractive RFA’s out there that might be tempting targets for teams looking for a high-end player.
The Bruins have still not locked up goalie Jeremy Swayman, and the same goes with Carolina and winger Seth Jarvis. The most interesting situation is with Detroit, who have a pair of franchise cornerstones in winger Lucas Raymond and defenseman Moritz Seider looking for a big payday.
GM Steve Yzerman has stocked away over $17 million in cap space to get the pair signed and reportedly is close to an agreement with Seider, but Raymond and the Wings remain far apart.
Could this be an opportunity for a team like Buffalo?
The Sabres are desperate to end their long playoff drought, they need to boost their offensive production after buying out Jeff Skinner, they have $8.45 million in cap space, are stockpiled with young prospects, and have the draft capital to give Detroit compensation if they do not match.
The question is whether Kevyn Adams believes the Wings will not match. Otherwise what is the point, unless the goal is to force Stevie Y’s hand and make Detroit spend money they do not want to…..