Could Dakota Joshua be a player of interest to the Buffalo Sabres?

An important part of the Buffalo Sabers offseason will be adding more offensive firepower. One possible pending free agent they may want to look at is Dakota Joshua. The center winger scored 18 goals during the regular season and has three goals with four assists in just seven playoff games so far as the Vancouver Canucks continue to play.

His cap hit is a salary of $850,000. Due to his performance on the ice, he could seek a higher salary, but would be a much more economical option than some other high-profile free agents Buffalo could target. He didn’t make more than a million a year during his career.

In addition to his offensive performance, he also maintained physical strength in Vancouver. The four-year veteran has had at least 215 hits over the past two years. Only Connor Clifton for Buffalo has had over 200 hits in the last two years.

They need to find players who are more physical and capable of being decisive scorers as they look to end the 13-year playoff drought. He scored five game-winning goals during the year. Once they are able to sign more players with the same drive as Joshua, they could easily end their playoff drought.

In the first game of the Canucks’ series against the Edmonton Oilers, he had a goal and two assists. In addition to scoring, he led the team with eight hits in a 5-4 victory. Joshua has totaled 19 hits so far in the playoffs.

Only Alex Tuch has scored more game-winning goals for Buffalo than Joshua for Vancouver this season. If they can land him a contract this offseason, he would be a nice addition. The Sabers need the style of play he continues to bring to the ice.