\GoBillsInDallas/

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2024/06/29/sports/connor-mcdavid-oilers-panthers-stanley-cup-final/ Buffalo again once removed from Cup The road to the Stanley Cup for a second year in a row again ran directly through Buffalo, a place where the Cup actually never has landed. In fact, the sad-sack Sabres haven’t participated in postseason play since 2011 (a Round 1 loss to the Flyers in Game 7). Last season saw Jack Eichel, once the Sabres cornerstone as the No. 2 pick in the 2015 draft, have his name etched on the Cup with the Golden Knights. William Carrier, another ex-Sabres forward, was also a member of the 2023 Vegas winners. And Monday night, another pair of ex-Sabres, Sam Reinhart and Kyle Okposo, were part of the Panthers pack that waltzed the Cup around Sunrise (and, hours later, various area saloons and beaches). So it sure hasn’t been a good thing to be a Sabre or a Sabres fan for quite some time, but Buffalo is one heck of a clearing house for players to fulfill their dreams elsewhere. Reinhart, considered by many to be the priciest catch in the upcoming UFA market, was swapped to the Panthers in July 2021 in the package that sent ex-Northeastern goalie Devon Levi and a first-round pick to the Sabres. Okposo, a primo Islanders pick (No. 7, 2006) was one of GM Bill Zito’s deadline pickups in March. Only 108 days later, Okposo was holding the Cup, following his first playoff appearances since the spring of 2016 with the Islanders. Now could it be Jeff Skinner’s time to step into the glorious white, silvery light? The 2011 Calder (Rookie of the Year) winner as a member of the Hurricanes, Skinner was rumored all week to be bought out by the Sabres ahead of the start of free agency Monday. If so, it will be the end of a highly unremarkable six-year run in Buffalo, where Skinner, like the Sabres, essentially disappeared. He is the lone player in NHL history to reach the 1,000-game plateau and never be in the playoffs. Skinner, though, made bank in those six years, signing an extension in June 2019 for eight years, $72 million after being dealt to Buffalo in August 2018. The buyout would save the Sabres one-third of his remaining $22 million and increases by some $7.5 million the sum GM Kevyn Adams has on hand. Total free cash: approximately $31 million. Even with all that dough to throw, Adams could be challenged to acquire the kind of high-profile players the Sabres need to shake their generational doldrums. While it’s undeniable that money talks, and often can win the day, elite players who finally reach free agency typically want to sign with a team positioned to be in the thick of the Cup fight. The Sabres have a handful of promising kids, but they’re not anywhere near the road back to bountiful.

You may want to look at CapSmart.com. It has a lot of the info that CapFriendly has though it doesn't appear to get updated as frequently.