{"id":441256,"date":"2024-05-19T15:10:40","date_gmt":"2024-05-19T19:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=441256"},"modified":"2024-05-19T15:10:40","modified_gmt":"2024-05-19T19:10:40","slug":"nhl-rumours-dallas-stars-and-buffalo-sabres","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/05\/19\/nhl-rumours-dallas-stars-and-buffalo-sabres\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL Rumours: Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for another batch of NHL rumours. We&#8217;re almost to the last four of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but there&#8217;s plenty to discuss. General managers are figuring out if some of their players will stay or go. The start of July 1 free agency is almost upon us, which makes the time crunch feel real. Some players might strike it rich when the summer gets into full swing. Today&#8217;s NHL rumours focus on the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/05\/12\/stars-vs-avalanche-mid-series-review\/\" target=\"_self\">Dallas Stars<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/05\/09\/nhl-rumours-buffalo-sabres-and-philadelphia-flyers\/\" target=\"_self\">Buffalo Sabres<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>All NHL rumours come from the original source and are subject to change.<\/p>\n<h2>NHL Rumours<\/h2>\n<h3>Dallas Stars<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: We take another look at Luke Fox&#8217;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sportsnet.ca\/nhl\/article\/nhls-top-12-ufas-of-2024-latest-rumours-reports\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">top 12 unrestricted free agent list<\/a>. This time the focus is forward <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/duchema01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Matt Duchene<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">NHL&#39;s Top 12 UFAs of 2024: Latest rumours, reports <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/NS43EW9cjD\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">https:\/\/t.co\/NS43EW9cjD<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/e4JInQkWLr\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/e4JInQkWLr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; luke fox (@lukefoxjukebox) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/lukefoxjukebox\/status\/1790758717811552678?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">May 15, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:<\/em> Duchene has rejuvenated his career after being bought out by the <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/05\/10\/nhl-rumours-montreal-canadiens-and-nashville-predators\/\" target=\"_self\">Nashville Predators<\/a> in the last off-season. The 33-year-old forward is seventh on Fox&#8217;s list of top UFAs. He scored 25 goals in a bounce-back campaign after four years in the Music City.<\/p>\n<p>The Haliburton, Onatrio native has thrived as the team&#8217;s second-line centre. However, it&#8217;s helped that he&#8217;s got a more-veteran and complete lineup surrounding him. Duchene just potted the series-clinching goal that saw the Stars get past the<a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/05\/18\/stars-vs-avalanche-second-round-playoff-series-review\/\" target=\"_self\"> Colorado Avalanche<\/a> in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinal.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s a 1,000-plus game veteran and brings a wealth of knowledge to a lineup with a good mix of youth and experience. General Manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/n\/nillji01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jim Nill<\/a> brought Duchene in at a bargain bin price of $3 million. The veteran is hoping to cash in this off-season and score maybe one more big payday while at nearing the end of his career.<\/p>\n<p>However, there are a number of other players angling for a raise. Restricted free agents <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/d\/dellaty01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Ty Dellandrea<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/s\/steelsa01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Sam Steel<\/a> have earned a shot at new deals while veteran UFA <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/p\/paveljo01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Joe Pavelski<\/a> has also made a case at another contract.<\/p>\n<p>Nill will do his best to make a new deal for Duchene happen. However, there could be some demand for the career 341-goal scorer.<\/p>\n<h3>Buffalo Sabres<\/h3>\n<p><em>Rumour: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thefourthperiod.com\/may-2024\/samuelsson-has-drawn-interest-from-several-teams#google_vignette\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Fourth Period reports<\/a> a number of Sabres players might hit the open market in the off-season after not being offered new deals. Some of these include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/o\/olofsvi01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Victor Olofsson<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/g\/girgeze01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zemgus Girgensons<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/r\/robiner01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Eric Robinson<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/j\/jostty01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Tyson Jost<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Analysis:<\/em> General manager <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hockey-reference.com\/players\/a\/adamske01.html?utm_medium=linker&amp;utm_source=lastwordonsports.com&amp;utm_campaign=2024-05-18_hr\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Kevyn Adams<\/a> seems to be really trying to overhaul the roster once again this off-season. There&#8217;s a number of young players looking to make the jump from a talented AHL Rochester squad.<\/p>\n<p>Adams is also trying to use some of the team&#8217;s cap space to make some moves. Buffalo has a projected $23.2 million in cap space and Adams wants to weaponize that. The Sabres GM wants to make some free agent signings and explore the trade market this off-season.<\/p>\n<p>Buffalo has the league&#8217;s longest playoff drought and the pressure is on Adams to get this team back into the post-season. The overhaul means long-time players like Olofsson and Girgensons will likely not be back in Western New York.<\/p>\n<p>Olofsson has show flashes of offence at times. However, he&#8217;s been more miss than hit in the last few seasons. A fresh start might be just the thing to get the Swedish forward back up and running.<\/p>\n<p>Girgensons plays a strong defensive game and has been a staple on the bottom-six for Buffalo. There&#8217;s nothing fancy about the Latvian&#8217;s game, but the left wing does a good job on the back-end. It&#8217;ll be odd seeing him in a different jersey, but it&#8217;s probable that he won&#8217;t be back in the Queen City. He&#8217;ll probably land on his feet somewhere, though.<\/p>\n<p>Robinson and Jost didn&#8217;t get consistent time in the lineup. A change of scenery will also probably benefit these two players.<\/p>\n<p><em>Main photo by: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s time for another batch of NHL rumours. We&#8217;re almost to the last four of the Stanley Cup playoffs, but there&#8217;s plenty to discuss. General managers are figuring out if some of their players will stay or go. The start of July 1 free agency is almost upon us, which makes the time crunch feel [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2352,"featured_media":439197,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,29,4547,4548,4321],"tags":[6481,7154,1575,5168,766,3532,183],"class_list":["post-441256","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sabres","category-stars","category-hockey","category-nhl","category-rumours","tag-buffalo-sabres-rumours","tag-dallas-stars-rumours","tag-jim-nill","tag-kevyn-adams","tag-matt-duchene","tag-victor-olofsson","tag-zemgus-girgensons"],"modified_by":"Dan Mount, Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2352"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=441256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/441256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439197"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=441256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=441256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=441256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}