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Botterill: Petersen Will Go To Free Agency

June 23, 2017, 10:00 AM ET [26 Comments]
GARTH'S CORNER
NHL news by Garth • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Notre Dame free agent goalie Cal Petersen will be testing free agency.

This according to Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill, who met with media in a Chicago on Friday morning.


"I've enjoyed interacting with Cal Petersen and wish him the best but at this point I don't believe he'll be signing with the Sabres."

By going to the unrestricted free agent route on June 30, Petersen will likely NOT be signing with the Sabres.

Botterill said he's disappointed but "we will move on".

Botterill said he has a couple of veteran goalies in mind to contact about job in his organization.





Petersen was the captain of the Fighting Irish last season. Notre Dame played in the NCAA Final Four. He posted a 2.22 GAA and .926 save percentage in 2016-17.

Buffalo selected Petersen in the 5th round (#129) at the 2013 NHL Draft.


Sounds to me like Petersen wants to skip playing in the AHL and start his career in an NHL net. Buffalo is in no position to hand their starting goalie job to a 22 year old college kid.

There are no shortcuts to the NHL.


Petersen to the Chicago Blackhawks as Corey Crawfoed's backup is his likely destination.


Good luck finding an NHL club that will hand you the keys to the kingdom fresh out of university, Cal.


Petersen, 22, led the Irish to their third Frozen Four appearance in program history. One of five finalists for the 2017 Mike Richter Award, Petersen was selected to the NCAA Northeast Regional All-Tournament team after posting wins over Minnesota and UMass Lowell.

Petersen finished the season with a 23-12-5 record to go along with a 2.22 GAA, a .926 save percentage and six shutouts. His save percentage ranked third in Hockey East and 11th nationally, while his six shutouts tied for the NCAA lead. Petersen's 2016-17 numbers were compiled against a tough schedule that included 18 games against top-20 offenses (teams who finished the season ranked in the top-20 nationally in goals per game).

A 2017 First Team Hockey East All-Star, Petersen led the Irish to a weekend sweep of Providence College in the Hockey East quarterfinals (March 10-11). In the two games versus the Friars, Petersen posted a 1.00 goals against average and a .973 save percentage to go along with a 43-save, game one shutout. He earned Hockey East Defensive Player of the Week honors following the series.


Petersen finished his legendary Notre Dame career by starting 90 consecutive games, which is the fourth-longest streak in NCAA history. In his three-year tenure at Notre Dame, he finished ranked first in career save percentage (.924), second in minutes played (6498:02), third in saves (3,042) and GAA (2.30), tied for third in victories (55) as well as fourth in shutouts (11) and in games played (110).



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Botterill also said he will be hiring an Assistant GM who would be responsible for the GM duties in Rochester. Botterill served as AGM to Jim Rutherford in Pittsburgh and GM of the Wilkes Barre Scranton Penguins.

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Botterill also said he is interested in keeping goalie coach Andrew Allen.

Phil Housley continues to interview candidates to serves as his assistant coaches.




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Botterill said that Phil Housley has had several conversations with Sabres forward Evander Kane since taking over the Buffalo head coaching job two weeks go.


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Welcome to NHL Draft Day 2017.

It's fitting that Chicago is the host city for this auspicious final event in the most historical week in the 100 year history of the National Hockey League.

The NHL Expansion Draft and NHL Awards presentation lived up to the predicted hockey buzz. The Vegas Knights now have their inaugural 30-man roster. Their GM George McPhee will continue to wheel and deal this weekend in a Chicago.

There are gale force trade winds blowing today in the Windy City.

My intel and sources tell me that the there will be trades o'plenty today.

I'm expecting the following high profile players to be traded today:


Evander Kane

All signs are pointing to Buffalo Sabres power forward being traded today. Teams that continue to court Kane are LA, Anaheim, San Jose, Minnesota and Vancouver. There are other NHL teams that will inquire about Kane's availability as the clock continues to run leading to the 7:00 puck drop on the NHL Draft.

Kane has been rumored to on the move since the 2016 NHL Draft in Buffalo last June.

Kane has a ton to offer in that he is a classic power forward who can score, hit, fight and make plays.

Why would the Sabres trade Kane and his 40 even strength goals (past two seasons) now?

Two reasons:

Kane is entering the final year of his contract which will pay him $5.25M and the Sabres will have to pay him north of $6M per season over a seven year term. Paying Kane a Kyle Okposo style contract who be foolhardy at this juncture as superstar Jack Eichel will be paid north of $8M AAV per season (7 seasons) in his next contract. Eichel's agent can begin contract talks on July 1. Paying Kane $6M+ per season will be prohibitive.

The other reason Kane is a trade target is that he will fetch new Sabres GM Jason Botterill a top pair defenseman in return. Botterill needs to shore up his D, which was the Achilles heel of the Sabres last season.

Phil Housley will be implementing an uptempo, high pace, 5-man attack. In order to have success in Housley's system, he must have seven capable puck movers in his D corps. Adding Nathan Beaulieu, Viktor Antipin and Brendan Guhle to the core that includes Rasmus Ristolainen, Jake McCabe, Zach Bogosian and Josh Gorges will help immensely. However, Guhle can spend quality development time in Rochester this season if Botterill can trade Kane for a legit, veteran top four D today.


Botterill may be of the mind to trade Kane to a team who has a veteran proven goal scorer to Sens back ton Buffalo. James Neal (Vegas), Matt Duchene (Colorado), and Charlie Coyle (Minnesota) fit that bill to a tee.

Botterill can then fill his D need with his eighth overall pick in tonight's NHL Draft.




Matt Duchene


The Colorado Avalanche have known for months that Duchene is dissatisfied with his current situation in the U.S. Rocky Mountains.

NHL tens interested in The nifty scoring forward include the NY Islanders, Arizona Coyotes, Nashville Predators, San Jose Sharks, LA Kings, Anaheim Ducks, and Calgary Flames.



Travis Hamonic


The talented veteran rear guard is being linked to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, and a Montreal Canadiens.



Marco Scandella


The veteran puck mover is on the radar screen of the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Dallas Stars, NY Rangers, Calgary Flames, and LA Kings.



Alex Galchenyuk


The sniping center/winger is a highly sought after commodity right now.

The Minnesota Wild, Arizona Coyotes, New Jersey Devils, Vegas Knights, Dallas Stars, and Florida Panthers are reportedly eyeing Galchenyuk.

Is Galchenyuk a center or winger? He sees himself as a #1 center while the Montreal Canadiens beg to differ.
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