Buffalo Sabres GM Tim Murray may not have given up on free agent defenseman Johnny Oduya, but it sounds like Oduya may have effectively given up on the Sabres, potentially increasing the likelihood that the Dallas Stars could wind up being the veteran's eventual landing spot.
It seems Oduya, most recently of the Stanley Cup-winning Chicago Blackhawks, has already turned down a significant contract offer from Murray and the Sabres, per Andy Strickland of Fox Sports Midwest.
Johnny Oduya already turned down a 3 yr, $15 million offer form #Sabres several days ago. No doubt Buffalo in position to offer most money
— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) July 14, 2015
As Strickland notes, the Sabres are likely able to offer the most money for Oduya, but it may not matter if that's not the veteran blueliner's biggest concern.
Oduya, 33, doesn't provide much in the way of offensive upside, netting just two goals and eight assists in 76 regular season games for the Blackhawks last year and adding just five assists in 23 postseason contests en route to the second Cup win of his career, but he does bring a strong veteran presence and Buffalo is in fairly desperate need for a tougher, more well-established defense.
Despite his limited upside, Oduya has been considered a "top target" for the Sabres and Murray of late.
"He hasn't signed anywhere yet, so I haven't moved on," Murray said recently. "We've looked at everybody we feel are going to need waivers. We're still talking trades with teams. We're still talking about a couple guys that are still out there, but there's no hurry."
While the Sabres have been the most vocal, it was revealed on Monday morning by Mike Heika of the Dallas Morning News that the Stars were among the other teams interested in adding Oduya.
Reports have suggested that returning to Chicago remains Oduya's preference, but the tight cap situation facing Hawks GM Stan Bowman may make that simply impossible. Even after dealing away young power forward Brandon Saad, the Blackhawks and Bowman are operating with just about $1.3 million in cap space.
The Stars and GM Jim Nill on the other hand, have about $6.865 million at their disposal at the moment and, like the Sabres, a glaring need for a tough-as-nails addition on the backend.
UPDATE, 11:00 AM, 7/15: The Stars have signed Oduya to a two-year deal.
Johnny Oduya's deal with the Stars: 2 years, $7.5 million, as per @Real_ESPNLeBrun.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 15, 2015
