BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — With just a few days until the NHL trade deadline on Friday, the Sabres find themselves in an interesting spot.
On one side of the debate, the Sabres are sitting at 24-30-6 following Tuesday night’s loss to San Jose, last place in the Eastern Conference and 12 points out of a playoff spot with 22 games to go. Someone on this side of the debate would argue the Sabres should sell off some pending unrestricted free agents and get assets in return for them.
The counter-argument is that Buffalo already has plenty of draft picks and young players in the system that can be used to build a core that can end the longest playoff drought in NHL history. Arguments have been made that the Sabres and GM Kevyn Adams could have a quiet deadline without a major move.
That would be a little bit of a diversion from the past two deadlines. A year ago Buffalo made the major move of trading captain Kyle Okposo to Florida for defenseman Calle Sjalin and a draft pick — Okposo went on to win a Stanley Cup last June. In 2023 they acquired forward Jordan Greenway from Minnesota for draft picks and traded Rasmus Asplund to Nashville for a pick.
Let’s take a look at what potential deadline deals the Sabres could make.
Unrestricted free agents
Buffalo has seven players who are pending unrestricted free agents: forwards Jordan Greenway, Jason Zucker, and Nicolas Aube-Kubel (currently with AHL Rochester), defensemen Henri Jokiharju, Jacob Bryson and Dennis Gilbert, and goaltender James Reimer.
Any of these players is certainly a candidate to be moved for assets.
Greenway and the Sabres are in a tricky contract spot. He is in the last year of a deal that pays him $3 million per year. His comments have made it seem he wants to remain in Buffalo and according to NHL insider Pierre LeBrun, the team and Greenway have begun talks of a contract extension. The Sabres will be forced to balance discussing him in a trade with a potential extension.
He has been productive for a bottom-six forward, with eight points in 25 games this season. Just 28 years old, he certainly has productive seasons ahead of him too.
Zucker signed a one-year, $5 million deal with Buffalo last July after splitting last season between Arizona and Nashville. The 33-year-old has been productive this season, third on the team with 18 goals, trailing only Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch, and is fifth on the team in points. He’s another player who is eligible to sign a contract extension.
Reimer got the start in goal for the Sabres on Monday night, just his eighth start in a Sabres uniform. The Sabres have two goalies in AHL Rochester with NHL experience in Devon Levi and Michael Houser who could both make the move to Buffalo if Reimer were to be made available.
Big swings
Two big names have reportedly come up in trade talks in recent days are Tuch and forward Dylan Cozens.
Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported that the red-hot Tampa Bay Lightning are targeting Tuch.
Tuch, a Syracuse native, has been one of Buffalo’s best players this season. He is second on the team with 23 goals and is third in points with 47, trailing Thompson and Dahlin.
Tuch has one year left on his deal and is due to make $4.75 million next season. He is eligible for a contract extension this summer. The Sabres would certainly be hard-pressed to move him, and reportedly Adams has not received any offers that would compel him to move a player who is becoming something of a franchise centerpiece.
Speaking of offers, Adams has reportedly also received offers for Cozens from several teams. The asking price would have to be high here, since even though Cozens has seen a dip in production this season, he is still a 24-year-old forward locked up until 2030.
Teams are also reportedly interested in forward JJ Peterka.
Re-routing last year’s acquisition
Bowen Byram, who was added at the deadline last year, is a pending restricted free agent after the season. The 23-year-old has been improving and his best seasons could still be ahead of him. He is a great skater and is second on the team in minutes per game, just behind of Rasmus Dahlin.
On the flip side of this, the Sabres already have a lot of money and years committed to the defensive core after the long-term deals handed out to Dahlin, Owen Power and Mattias Samuelsson. When looking at cap management, a decision about him looms. If anything, it could be an odd man out situation and the price they have to pay to make a big shakeup.
The bottom line
The Sabres have not performed to expectations, the second straight year they have regressed after coming oh-so-close to ending the playoff drought two seasons ago.
Buffalo has several young and talented players that they can use to build a roster that can compete for a playoff spot and end the drought, but so far Adams has been unable to do so. He will certainly be under the microscope this trade deadline as the team begins to look into next year.
Aidan Joly joined the News 4 staff in 2022. He is a graduate of Canisius College. You can see more of his work here.