They say Rome wasn’t built in a day. In the NHL, the first day of free agency can often be full of teams trying to prove the old adage wrong.

That’s what we saw on Sunday.

Just six hours into the NHL free agency signing period, teams had already dished out over $750 million in total contract value, according to capfriendly.com. Big names such as John Tavares, Paul Stastny and James van Riemsdyk were all off the board within the first few hours. Still, many talented players remain, as do many teams who missed out on the big names with a lot of cap space remaining.

Though the Sabres were never considered as a likely destination for any of the big names in free agency, Buffalo has certainly been a team at the center of the NHL offseason with the addition of top overall pick Rasmus Dahlin in the NHL Draft. Dahlin is a difference-maker — which Buffalo desperately needed on the blue line — but the Sabres still had plenty of work to do even after the draft. After all, we’re talking about a team that had the worst record in the league (once again) last season.

Buffalo had a ton of cap space this offseason, and GM Jason Botterill was able to use that to his advantage in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins to acquire promising young forward Conor Sheary and veteran defenseman Matt Hunwick in exchange for a mid-round draft pick. Hunwick will not be expected to contribute much more than veteran leadership to one of the league’s youngest teams, but Sheary will likely be counted on as a regular winger on one of the team’s top two lines.

Still, Buffalo headed into free agency with more than $15 million available to spend — even with the $5 million cap hit assigned to Matt Moulson who the Sabres banished to the minor leagues.

The Sabres made the decision to let both goalies — Robin Lehner and Chad Johnson — hit free agency, along with defenseman Josh Gorges and forwards Benoit Pouliot and Jordan Nolan, among others. Obviously, the biggest hole on the team is the goaltending in Buffalo.

The Sabres attempted to address their need between the pipes by handing out a three-year deal to Carter Hutton — a career backup at 32 years of age — worth a total of $8.25 million. However, Hutton had solid numbers in limited duty last season for St. Louis. Hutton had a .931 save percentage last year, which was tops among all other available options by a large margin. What remains to be seen is whether Hutton is the goalie he was last year, or whether that was an outlier and he returns to what he’s been for the rest of his career.

Hutton will split time in net for Buffalo with Linus Ullmark, who has only been used on an as-needed basis throughout his career up to now. With less than $4 million assigned to the two combined, Buffalo has one of the most affordable duos in the league. With that being said, the money itself given to Hutton is not the risk for the Sabres. The real risk is relying on Hutton to be the number one option when he has never done so before, while there were other options on the market with a much more proven track record. Cam Ward, Kari Lehtonen and Jaroslav Halak may not be the top-tier in the NHL at the moment, but they all have much more experience as the go-to guy.

The Sabres bet on Hutton to fill the biggest need on the ice. Now, what will the team do with the remaining $13 million in cap space?

The Sabres have a top-tier center in Jack Eichel, along with wings of Sheary, Jason Pominville and Kyle Okposo. Adding another name to that list would certainly help. Some of the top remaining options on the market include James Neal, Rick Nash and Patrick Maroon. It would not be surprising if Neal wound up back in Vegas, while Nash is contemplating retirement, but Maroon seems to be within reach. The 30 year old winger tallied 16 goals and 40 points last season.

Buffalo also could use one more established defenseman to add to the group, especially with the injury history of Zach Bogosian. The best available options on the market after the early frenzy are Dan Hamhuis, Alexei Emelin, Dylan DeMelo and Brooks Orpik, who was just bought out by Colorado in a trade after winning a Stanley Cup with Washington this year.

The Sabres can only improve from what they did last season in the standings. The process to improving continues throughout the summer, but after the first day, it’s fair to wonder what else is in store.

Braden Carmen is an OBSERVER Sports Writer. Comments on this article can be sent to bcarmen@observertoday.com, sports@observertoday.com, or by reaching out on Twitter @bradencarmen