Arttu Ruotsalainen Would Like to Remain A Member of the Buffalo Sabres

[Doohicksie]

The story is in the tweets in this thread:

And...

The first one is a story out of Europe that says he's going to play in Switzerland next year.  The second is an article saying he hasn't decided.

It sounds more to me like he sees his window to make it to the NHL as a regular is closing and if that's so, looking for options in Europe.  Someone over there heard about it and published a story which was tweeted back to North America.

His compensation at the NHL level ($832,500 salary and $92,500 signing bonus) is $925,000, while his AHL salary is $70,000.  I believe the signing bonus was paid regardless of whether he was in the AHL or NHL.  So after the bonus if he's in the AHL he makes less than 1/10 of his NHL salary.

It could be that he would like to stay in North America but won't sign another two-way deal that pays him squat in the minors.  Just a couple numbers to throw around:  The average salary in the Swiss league is about US$217k.  Amerks center Sean Malone makes US$200k.  Where does Arttu slot in relative to Malone?  Would it be reasonable to pay Arttu, say, $250k to play for the Amerks?  Would that keep him in NA?

It's an interesting case all around.  Whether he stays or goes likely doesn't change the trajectory of the Sabres that much.  He may be using the prospect of leaving as leverage to secure a better contract with the Sabres/Amerks.  His recent performance in the AHL playoffs (currently leading all AHL skaters in points right now) may give him increased leverage to secure better terms.

As a side note, I find it interesting that the playoff points leaders on the Amerks- Arttu, Fitzy and Krebs- are players who've spent significant time in the NHL, and that AHL Rookie of the Year Quinn hasn't recorded a point yet.

Edited May 8, 2022 by Doohickie

[GASabresIUFAN]

Don't we need to update this thread title with correct information?

[tom webster]

I love people making judgements after two games. I’m glad for the people of Rochester and for the players that seem to be having a ball but while R2 may be having a great start do we know if he’s Jason Pominville or Jody Gage? Is Quinn going to be a playoff bust because he hasn’t scored yet. Most importantly, does it mean anything to the long term Sabre prospects for success? Who really knows? At least it’s a lot more fun this year.

[dudacek]

I don’t see any reason for the Sabres not to entice R2 with a 1-way deal next year.

From the Sabres perspective, he’s a good AHL player who can fill in in Buffalo and May still have some upside. They can afford to pay him an NHL salary in the minors.

From his perspective the cash should be enough to give North America one more shot.

[Taro T]

6 hours ago, dudacek said:

I don’t see any reason for the Sabres not to entice R2 with a 1-way deal next year.

From the Sabres perspective, he’s a good AHL player who can fill in in Buffalo and May still have some upside. They can afford to pay him an NHL salary in the minors.

From his perspective the cash should be enough to give North America one more shot.

It could even be a 2 year deal w/ no true negative repercussions based on where their full team salary sits.

Would still leave him as an RFA for 1 year after the deal ends. 

He could still be a useful trade chip as part of a package if he doesn't have a future in Buffalo.  He has extremely good hand eye coordination and could score a reasonable amount in the NHL if he can get PP time w/ somebody.

[Doohicksie]

7 hours ago, tom webster said:

I love people making judgements after two games. I’m glad for the people of Rochester and for the players that seem to be having a ball but while R2 may be having a great start do we know if he’s Jason Pominville or Jody Gage? Is Quinn going to be a playoff bust because he hasn’t scored yet. Most importantly, does it mean anything to the long term Sabre prospects for success? Who really knows? At least it’s a lot more fun this year.

Who said anything about bust?  Talk about jumping to conclusions!  The only point I was making is that it seems that the players with most NHL experience seemed to have the fastest start in the playoffs.

7 hours ago, dudacek said:

I don’t see any reason for the Sabres not to entice R2 with a 1-way deal next year.

From the Sabres perspective, he’s a good AHL player who can fill in in Buffalo and May still have some upside. They can afford to pay him an NHL salary in the minors.

From his perspective the cash should be enough to give North America one more shot.

That's kind of where I am.  But if he signs in Europe I'm not going to be too upset.

[Hank]

If he signs a one way deal he can't be sent down without clearing waivers?

[Huckleberry]

8 hours ago, Hank said:

If he signs a one way deal he can't be sent down without clearing waivers?

Don't think so, but otherwise he is gone anyway so , I still think he has a shot at a bottom 6 role.   

He got called up at an unlucky time when the team was playing really bad.

[steveoath]

And if he proves not up to NHL then he either gets waived to Roc or another NHL team gives him a chance. Don't really see any downside from R2's side.

[Taro T]

17 hours ago, Hank said:

If he signs a one way deal he can't be sent down without clearing waivers?

Needing to clear waivers or not has nothing to do w/ him having a 1 or 2 way contract, but rather his pro experience & age.

[Hank]

1 hour ago, Taro T said:

Needing to clear waivers or not has nothing to do w/ him having a 1 or 2 way contract, but rather his pro experience & age.

I did not know that, thank you. 

[Taro T]

1 hour ago, Hank said:

I did not know that, thank you. 

You're welcome.

🍺

 

[inkman]

 

[K-9]

12 minutes ago, inkman said:

 

Hmm. I don’t think the Sabres can guarantee he will be a part of the Sabres. They can guarantee an opportunity but that’s about it. Can they give him a really fat contract to play for the Amerks if he can’t make the show?

[dudacek]

6 minutes ago, K-9 said:

Hmm. I don’t think the Sabres can guarantee he will be a part of the Sabres. They can guarantee an opportunity but that’s about it. Can they give him a really fat contract to play for the Amerks if he can’t make the show?

Said it before: sign him to a one-way contract, which guarantees him an NHL wage, and tell him/show him how there is a spot available if he earns it.

Edited May 26, 2022 by dudacek

[Taro T]

1 minute ago, dudacek said:

Said it before: sign him to a one-way contract, which guarantees him an NHL wage, and tell him/show him how there is a spot available if he earns it.

Between the owners' wealth & their challenging the cap floor, every contract for a guy that might fit into their future should be a 1 way contract if he's at a spot it is allowable.

[Doohicksie]

Dear @Brawndo:  Please change the title one more time to spell Arttu's name correctly (two t's, one u).  Thanks.

[matter2003]

R2 is a machine in the playoffs...always want to keep players that perform on the biggest stages because there are a lot of players who shrink from the moment.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

25 minutes ago, matter2003 said:

R2 is a machine in the playoffs...always want to keep players that perform on the biggest stages because there are a lot of players who shrink from the moment.

Has he ever played an NHL playoff game?  (I know the answer).  The game is a bit different.

[tom webster]

I’m still waiting for one of our analytics gurus to show me a chart that success in AHL playoffs has any correlation to success in NHL playoffs. I’ve heard a lot of anecdotal stories but nothing backed by numbers. As always, I’m willing to learn and be proven wrong.

[Huckleberry]

I'm sure he can take eakins spot next year 😛

[Brawndo]

 

[PerreaultForever]

You know, "I would like to be part of the Buffalo Sabres" can be interpreted as I don't want to be part of the Rochester Americans. If that's his mindset, it wouldn't be the first time a European player wanted NHL or I'm going back to Europe. 

idk though, I'd be fine with him around, won't lose sleep over him not being here (or Rochester).

[Digger]

Sounds promising to me that both sides want to work out a deal.  Most likely a one way deal without a guarantee on a spot with the Sabres.  Will he still be waiver exempt?  I believe CapFriendly says no so he will need to pass through waivers next season.

I don't see a downside for R2 or the Sabres.  He works hard in the off-season and comes to camp ready to win a job which puts pressure on Quinn and Peterka to work just as hard.  Competition is needed so that Quinn and or Peterka have to earn a spot.  R2 could win a spot in camp or we could have an injury.  Best case for R2 is that he wins a spot on the Sabres, if he doesn't (but has a great camp) he gets picked up by another NHL team.  Worst case demoted to Rochester (and still gets called up in season) but still getting a much better salary than the past year.

[matter2003]

16 hours ago, Sabres Fan in NS said:

Has he ever played an NHL playoff game?  (I know the answer).  The game is a bit different.

It is, but performing under pressure is the same...it's not like he is going to feel more pressure and fold like a cheap tent because it's an NHL game versus AHL.