Sabres GM hasn’t moved on from Johnny Oduya as defenseman waits
Johnny Oduya was willing to wait for the Chicago Blackhawks to clear some cap space in hopes of re-signing with the Stanley Cup champions. But then on Friday night, GM Stan Bowman went out and not only dealt Patrick Sharp to the Dallas Stars to make some room, he also added an over-30 defenseman in Trevor Daley.
Now what for Oduya? How does Buffalo sound? That’s what the Buffalo News’ Mike Harrington sees as a good fit for the 33-year old blueliner.
Oduya’s last deal with Chicago was for three years and $10.125 million, so he’s going to expect a raise to at least $4 million a season, and maybe closer to $5 million. [Sabres GM Tim] Murray isn’t big on free agency and is very picky about the ones he goes after. For him to flat-out say Sunday he had not moved on from Oduya was significant.
Murray mentioned on Sunday that he knows Oduya is still out there. “I haven’t moved on. He hasn’t signed anywhere yet, so I haven’t moved on,” Murray said.
Even after the Sharp deal, Oduya’s camp is still holding out hope something can be done to return to Chicago. Bowman said the situation is “fluid.” His agent, Don Meehan, said they are “considering a number of options.”
Currently, the Blackhawks have Daley, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, David Rundblad and Trevor van Riemsdyk as defensemen under contract the NHL level. (Only TvR is waiver exempt, per War on Ice.) They’re also still incredibly tight against the salary cap with RFA Marcus Kruger still waiting to re-sign and the inevitable dump of Bryan Bickell’s $4 million cap hit to come.
The Sabres, meanwhile, have plenty of of room under the cap ceiling and bringing on Oduya to strengthen their top four would be another wise addition by Murray this summer. That and it’ll be like one big Thrashers reunion in the dressing room with Zach Bogosian and Evander Kane.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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