Hackett, who will not play in Friday's game due to a knee injury, will now become an unrestricted free agent this offseason because he can't reach the number of appearances needed for the Sabres to retain his rights, The Buffalo News reports. Hackett needed five more appearances of at least 30 minutes in order to stay the property of the Sabres. The team had some high hopes for the injury-struck goaltender after acquiring him as part of the Jason Pominville-to-Minnesota deal in 2013, but he never did much at the big-league level and a torn ACL late last season really derailed any plans. He probably won't be too expensive so perhaps the Sabres will bring him back, but now all 30 teams will have a crack at him if they're looking for organizational depth.