Sabres To Let Three Prospects Become Free Agents

The Sabres won’t be signing any of the three prospects they’ll lose the exclusive signing rights to at 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News reports. 2022 fourth-round pick Mats Lindgren will be eligible to re-enter the 2024 draft, while 2020 seventh-round picks Jakub Konecny and Albert Lyckåsen will become true unrestricted free agents.

[RELATED: Full 2024 List Of Expiring Draft Rights]

Lindgren, 19, is the most surprising lapsed selection. The Swedish-Canadian blue liner was touted as a late second or third-round pick by most in his draft year but slipped to Buffalo at 106th overall. After putting up 44 points and a +25 rating in 68 games with the Western Hockey League’s Red Deer Rebels in 2021-22, he looked like he may have fringe top-four upside, but his point production and two-way play immediately hit a wall and hasn’t progressed by any degree.

He finished the 2023-24 campaign with 41 points and a -4 rating in 63 games for Red Deer and should be considered unlikely to be an overage selection in next month’s draft. If he turns pro this summer, it’ll likely be as an undrafted free agent signing with a minor-league club, although he could still land an entry-level deal with an NHL team after the draft passes.

Konecny and Lyckåsen are the elder statesmen of this group and will remain overseas next season. Jakub, who has no relation to Flyers star Travis Konecny, has spent the last three seasons in a bottom-six forward role for HC Sparta Praha of the Czech Extraliga. The 21-year-old 5’10” pivot has 14 goals and 30 points in 121 career top-level games across the last four seasons. He’ll be on the move next season after signing a one-year pact to remain in the top Czech league with HC Kometa Brno last month.

Lyckåsen, 22, has spent most of his time since the 2020 draft suiting up in the HockeyAllsvenskan, the second tier of Swedish hockey. The right-shot defenseman will suit up for his third team in three years next year after signing with Västerås IK. He does have 11 top-level Swedish Hockey League games to his name, all coming with Linköping HC from 2019 to 2022, but he failed to record a point. In 36 Allsvenskan games for BIK Karlskoga last season, Lyckåsen had three goals and 14 points with a -9 rating.