The 30-year-old winger is the longest-tenured Sabre and will complete his 10th season with Buffalo
The 30-year-old winger is the longest-tenured Sabre and will complete his 10th season with Buffalo
The Buffalo Sabres were active in the week leading up to the NHL Trade Deadline, swapping center Casey Mittelstadt to Colorado for defenseman Bowen Byram and, dealing veteran Erik Johnson to Philadelphia and team captain Kyle Okposo to Florida for draft picks, but when 3 pm on Friday rolled around, Zemgus Girgensons was still a Sabre.
The 30-year-old Latvian was Buffalo’s first-round selection in 2012 and is the longest-tenured Sabre, playing 672 games over his 10 seasons with the Blue and Gold. He became an unrestricted free agent last summer and was brought back on a one-year, $2.5 million deal, but there was some thought that the club might move him at the deadline with a number of young forwards in the organization, but GM Kevyn Adams said on Friday that he believes that unlike Okposo and Johnson, who are nearing the end of their careers, Girgensons has more to contribute.
"Zemgus is so important within the fabric of this team,” Adams said. “It's a different situation (than Kyle and Erik). I think (he) has plenty of years ahead of him.”
The Sabres are likely to see a further roster turnover this summer, with veteran forwards Tyson Jost, and Victor Olofsson and goalie Eric Comrie likely not returning, but Adams may be looking to keep Girgensons in the fold to provide some roster stability.
“I've made it clear to him (that a new contract is) something that we're going to talk about. We want to get through the trade deadline and our own situation.” Adams said. “I'm really glad we're keeping him because there's something special about him and I think it's important here down the stretch that he's in that locker room."
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