- Capitals acquire 23-year-old forward Tyler Kopff from Buffalo
- Sabres land ex-WHL goal-scorer Zac Funk, both on expiring entry-level deals
- Read below for what each team is betting on
The Capitals and Sabres kept it small on Monday.
Washington acquired 23-year-old forward Tyler Kopff from Buffalo and shipped winger Zac Funk the other way. Both players are heading into the final year of their entry-level contracts, so neither side gave up much.
The Sabres made it official:
Kopff is the size bet. He stands 6-foot-4, 205 pounds and can play center or the left wing.
An undrafted forward, he went a point per game in the BCHL before landing at Brown. His sophomore season did the heavy lifting, with 28 points in 32 games and ECAC Third-Team All-Star honors.
The pro numbers haven’t caught up. Kopff managed five points in 30 games with Rochester last season, lost his spot in March, and finished the year in the ECHL with Jacksonville.
He also came in under former GM Kevyn Adams, who has since been replaced by Jarmo Kekalainen as part of a broader front-office overhaul in Buffalo. Clearing out a struggling depth piece from the old regime fits the pattern.
Funk is the opposite profile. The 22-year-old tore up the WHL in his overage season, leading the league with 67 goals and 123 points in 68 games.
Whether that scoring holds up a level higher has always been the question. So far it hasn’t, with six points in 25 career AHL games and most of last season spent in the ECHL.
Buffalo has had success developing smaller, hard-nosed wingers, so there’s logic in taking a swing on the goal-scorer. Washington came away with size and reach instead.
Neither prospect is a lock to crack an NHL lineup this season. What both teams got is a cheap, sensible reshuffle at the bottom of the depth chart.
