Cody Hodgson in minus 44 in his 218 game career with the Buffalo Sabres. The former 10th overall pick of the Vancouver Canucks in the 2008 NHL Draft is a man without a country right now. The Sabres have super centers Jack Eichel, Samson Reinhart, and Zemgus Girgensons who factor heavily in Buffalo's plans in 2015-16. Johan Larsson finally earned Ted Nolan's trust and was an impressive 200 foot producer. Tyler Ennis was Buffalo'a #1 center.
The tanking days are over in Buffalo. Tim Murray and Dan Bylsma will be shifting the re-build to the winning phase.
So, where does that leave Hodgson?
Tim Murray won't pay Hodgson to be a healthy scratch nor a fourth liner. Murray and Bylsma are building a big, hard, fast team. Hodgson doesn't fit into Murray's template.
Hodgson’s entire game fell off the face of the earth in 2014-15. Granted, it was the second 30th place finish in a row for the Sabres, however, Hodgson is a veteran player who failed to rise above all of the negative influences. There were long stretches of games that you would not see #19 near the puck in all three zones. The few times that he possessed the puck, he would be stripped of it only to lose the foot chase to track it down. Ted Nolan and Bryan Trottier lost their faith in Hodgson and banished him to the fourth line. On several occasions, Nolan would say on the record that he would lie awake in bed at night and think of new ways to motivate and enervate Hodgson. Nolan would grow frustrated by Hodgson’s laissez-faire, shoulder shrug responses to the team’s need for more leadership and production from Hodgson. Hodgson scored 20 goals and added 24 assists in 2013-14. Decent numbers on a 30th place team. He was -26. Last season, he scored just 6 goals and added 7 assists in 78 games played. For a guy with a cannon of a shot, he landed only 127 shots. His shooting percentage of 4.7% was a joke. So was his -28 rating. He struggles in the faceoff circle and was a 44% draw man last season. How can Bylsma play a puck possession attack when Hodgson loses draws 55% of the time?
Hodgson's warts have been exposed. His skating has made him a replaceable player. He knows it. Nolan knew it. Rolston knew it. Ruff knew it. His teammates know it. Most importantly, Murray knows it.
Hodgsin thrived while playing for Canada at the 2014 World Championships where he played the wing, not center ice. Perhaps Bylsma likes him better on the wall and will re-purpose him as a winger. Would Hodgson accept a new role or is he adamant about playing center?
Hodgson has four years remaining on his current deal at $4.25 million AAV per season. Bear in mind that Murray didn’t sign Hodgson to this monster, multiyear contract. Darcy Regier did. In the past year, Murray has taken the axe Regier’s mistake contracts with Tyler Myers, Christian Ehrhoff, and Ville Leino. Might Hodgson be the next Regier-authored contract to be on the move out of Buffalo? When asked on Thursday whether he was considering a Hodgson buyout, Murray said that he is thinking about it. It’s not a good sign for the player when his GM says that he is considering writing a check and having him skate away. In other words, paying the player not to come back to work for the Sabres ever again. What cap hit would Hodgson’s contract be to Murray’s budget? Surprisingly, only a shade under $784,000 per season, for the next eight seasons. That’s car ashtray money for the Pegulas.
Question:
Why is Hodgson working on his skating on the other side of the world when he has the brand spankin’ new HARBORCenter and The Academy of Hockey in campus at the First Niagara Center. Adam Mair and Kevin Adams can most certainly fix Hodgson’s stride and his explosiveness. Unless of course, Hodgson doesn’t want the help. Hell, the Sabres have employed Dawn Braid, who is in my opinion the best skating mentor /coach in North America. Braid is based out of Mississauga and has helped dozens of Sabres prospects to get their skating game to the next level. Braid has achieved measurable results with Tyler Myers, Mark Pysyk, Rasmus Ristolainen, Mikhail Grigorenko, Nikita Zadorov, Brayden McNabb, Mike Weber, and countless others. Perhaps her greatest success story to date is the transformation of John Tavares’ skating stride. You think Hodgson wants to be mentioned in the same breath as JT?
Hodgson's name has been mentioned prominently in buyout rumors since last summer. Grigorenko will have to pass through waivers in order to get to Rochester this upcoming season. Grigorenko is a pending RFA and Tim Murray will be tendering the big Russian a qualifying offer on a two year bridge contract. Like Hodgson, Grigorenko is not guaranteed a roster spot in Buffalo next season Sabres GM Tim Murray and Dan Bylsma met with WGR radio on Thursday. He said that Hodgson is currently in Sweden working on his skating stride. He has been woefully lacking in the skating and physical fitness departments.
If bought out Hodgson would immediately become a free agent. He would be free to sign with any other team. Arizona and Regier, right? Or, maybe he finds a team to play for in Sweden.
** Murray said Sam Reinhart did follow-up testing with the Sabres strength and conditioning staff after his Kootenay and Rochester experiences had ended. The results were positive. Reinhart accomplished his goals of adding more strength to his body.
Is Reinhart ear-marked automatically for Rochester?
Not necessarily.
Murray said Reinhart did very well in his brief stay in Rochester late last season. The GM may be considering keeping him in Buffalo at the end of training camp. That depends on how Reinhart performs in rookie camp and in training camp.