As the NHL gets ready to begin the remainder of the regular season following the 4 Nations Face-Off, Buffalo Sabres GM Kevyn Adams has to be looking towards the 17 days between now and the NHL trade deadline. Despite Adams saying the club will not look to be sellers before March 7th and head coach Lindy Ruff laying out a plan to get back into the playoff race, the club has less than a 1% chance of making the postseason and may be forced to deal off veterans with expiring contracts if they cannot get them signed to team-friendly contract extensions.
Winger Jason Zucker and forward Jordan Greenway are players that the Sabres may like to get locked up but could be on the move if Adams cannot make progress on signing them to contract extensions, but a name that has not been mentioned regarding interest in a new contract is defenseman Henri Jokiharku.
The 25-year-old blueliner is in his sixth season with the Sabres after a summer 2019 trade that sent former first-round pick Alex Nylander to Chicago. Jokiharju has never bloomed into a top-four defenseman, but had his best campaign last season under former coach Don Granato, with 20 points (3 goals, 17 assists) in 74 games and a +14 rating.
A restricted free agent last summer, the Sabres signed Jokiharju to a one-year, $3 million contract, but under Ruff the right-handed Finn has been a part-time player, playing just 39 of Buffalo’s 54 games, and posting just four points (1 goal, 3 assists). After a slew of injuries to their blueline, Finland tabbed Jokiharju as a replacement for the recently completed 4 Nations, and he scored their opening goal in their 6-1 loss to Team USA.
With the Sabres blueline being primarily left-handed, Jokiharju was given a chance to play on one of the top two pairings to start the season but quickly found himself either on the bottom pairing or in the press box. In spite of his young age for a player with nearly 400 games of NHL experience, there are questions of whether there is any great interest on either side of a future in Buffalo past the end of this season.
Right-handed defensemen are a much-needed commodity, and even average ones are sought after before the deadline. Depending on their willingness to retain salary, the Sabres could get a…