The Buffalo Sabres and center Peyton Krebs are currently at an impasse after the 23-year-old’s entry-level contract expired on July 1, but unlike the Edmonton Oilers, who could potentially lose two young players in Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg to offer sheets from the St. Louis Blues, the Sabres are in no such danger with Krebs.
Broberg (a 23-year-old former top-10 pick in 2019) signed a two-year offer sheet for an AAV of $4,580,917, while Holloway (a 22-year-old winger selected 14th overall in 2020) signed a two-year offer sheet for an AAV of $2,290,457. Both split time between AHL Bakersfield and the Oilers last season and showed growth in Edmonton’s run to the Stanley Cup Final, but had little leverage to demand the type of payday they will potentially get from the Blues.
The Oilers would be over the $88 million salary cap if they matched both offers, even if Evander Kane was placed on LTIR because of a potential surgery, but their problem is next season when both Leon Draisaitl and Evan Bouchard will need new deals.
Krebs could be a more attractive commodity as an offer sheet candidate than Holloway, especially for a club looking for help up the middle and someone who believes that there is some untapped offensive potential there, but the Sabres have more than enough cap space ($8.45 million according to Puckpedia) to match any offer.
An offer of $1,511,701 AAV or less would require no compensation, from $1,511,701 to $2,290,457 requires a 2025 third-round pick, and from $2,290,457 to $4,580,917, a 2025 second-round pick. The only consideration for Buffalo if another team submitted an offer sheet on Krebs would be whether they chose to allocate a healthy chunk of cap space to a player who would be battling for a fourth-line spot.
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