Three Landing Spots For St. Louis Blues UFA Barret Jackman

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Feb 26, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; A general view of the ice before the game between the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks at First Niagara Center. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports

The Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres might seem a surprising choice, but the St. Louis Blues have already shown that they have a good trading relationship with them over the past couple of seasons. Jackman might very well want to go to a team where he knows a portion of the players well, and has enjoyed a good working relationship with them in the past.

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But why would the Sabres want to take on Jackman, an aging defenseman, when they have two first-round picks and five more left to them over the remaining rounds? They’re clearly in rebuild mode, and a defender in his late thirties doesn’t fit with the theme of the party.

Ostensibly. In reality, Jackman would fit in the Buffalo Sabres’ dressing room incredibly well as a role model for the newest and youngest members of the team.

He’s someone who, as teammates have said repeatedly, leaves it all out on the ice. Jackman goes as hard as he can, every game, and the word complain doesn’t appear to be in his vocabulary. He was honored this season for playing over 800 games during his 13 years on the Blues, missing games only due to injury or health concerns. His work ethic is beyond reproach and on a team that will be as young as the Sabres will be over the next two to five years, that message being sent both by a mentor and teammate will go a long way towards building the franchise into a winner.

The Sabres will not have a ton of cap space available to them, so getting Jackman’s impressive Corsi ratings (indicating strong possession, for those of you who aren’t familiar with advanced stats) on their side in addition to his off-ice presence for as little as $2.5 million a year (plus a signing bonus, to be sure) would be tough to pass up.

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