BUFFALO, N.Y. — Still stung by the St. Louis Blues missing the playoffs for the first time in six seasons, General Manager Doug Armstrong capped a major roster overhaul on the first day of the NHL’s free-agency period by acquiring center Ryan O’Reilly in a multiplayer trade with the Buffalo Sabres.

Aside from landing a nine-year veteran in O’Reilly, St. Louis committed $31 million in salary to sign forwards David Perron and center Tyler Bozak to multiyear contracts.

“Once you miss the playoffs, change has to happen,” Armstrong said. “We’re a nonplayoff team for the first time in a number of years and it doesn’t sit well with the St. Louis Blues’ organization, and certainly the fan base.”

Making drastic changes was also the theme in Buffalo, where General Manager Jason Botterill continued shuffling the under-performing roster of a team that finished last for the third time in five years.

“We had to change the dynamic,” Botterill said. “The bottom line was there’s a lot of great people in that locker room but when you finish 31st, you have to look to make changes.”

The Sabres added experience to a young roster by acquiring veterans forwards Vladimir Sobotka and Patrik Berglund. They also acquired forward Tage Thompson, a 2016 first-round draft pick who had three goals and six assists in 41 games as an NHL rookie last season. Buffalo rounded out its haul by adding a conditional first-round draft pick next year and a second-rounder in 2021.

The Blues also agreed to pay O’Reilly the $7.5 million contract bonus he was due by the end of the day Sunday. .

Berglund, a former first-round draft pick, has 168 goals and 322 points in 694 games over a 10-year career in St. Louis. Sobotka is a defensive forward who has 47 goals and 155 points in 463 career games over nine seasons.

A CALIFORNIA JUDGE dismissed a misdemeanor domestic abuse conviction against former Los Angeles defenseman Slava Voynov, a move that could clear a path for his return to the NHL.

He pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge after police said he punched, kicked and choked his wife in 2015. He served almost two months in jail and voluntarily agreed to return to Russia after he was taken into custody by U.S. immigration officials. Voynov also was suspended indefinitely by the league.

SHARKS: San Jose re-signed center Joe Thornton to a one-year contract.

The team announced the deal on Thornton’s 39th birthday. He tested the free-agent market last summer before returning to San Jose on a one-year, $8 million deal but was intent the whole time this year on staying with the Sharks.

FLAMES: Calgary landed the top free agent still on the market, signing forward James Neal to a five-year, $28.75 million contract.

Neal has topped 20 goals in each of his 10 NHL seasons in a career that began with Dallas in 2008.

PREDATORS: Nashville signed forward Zac Rinaldo to a one-year, two-way contract.

Related Stories