Trade Deadline Primer: Buffalo Sabres

With the All-Star break approaching, the trade deadline looms large and is about a month and a half away. Where does each team stand, and what moves should they be looking to make? We continue our look around the league with the Buffalo Sabres.

On the tail of a 91-point finish in the 2022-23 regular season, the Sabres looked ready to break their 13-year postseason drought this year. Even after some offseason acquisitions to improve areas of weakness in the organization, Buffalo has appeared to have taken a step back. As things currently stand, the Sabres are on pace for a 37-38-7 record on the season, which would once again put them in a strong lottery position in the 2024 NHL Draft. With the hope of competing this year and plenty of talent to do so, Buffalo is one of the more interesting teams leading into the deadline season.

Record

22-23-4, 6th in the Atlantic

Deadline Status

Conservative Seller

Deadline Cap Space

$36.8MM on deadline day, 0/3 retention slots used, 44/50 contracts used, per CapFriendly.

Upcoming Draft Picks

2024: BUF 1st, BUF 2nd, BUF 3rd, BUF 4th, BUF 6th, BUF 7th
2025: BUF 1st, BUF 2nd, BUF 3rd, BUF 4th, MIN 4th, BUF 5th, BUF 6th, BUF 7th, NSH 7th*

*If Eric Robinson plays 45 games for the Sabres over the regular season, Buffalo will send Nashville’s seventh-round draft pick in the 2025 NHL Draft to the Columbus Blue Jackets. 

Trade Chips

Even with sizeable long-term extensions kicking in next season for defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power, the Sabres still have quite a bit of cap flexibility to use, currently projecting around $26.14MM next summer if the cap does rise to the reported $87.7MM. With only Casey Mittelstadt and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen set to receive notable raises over their current deals, Buffalo may look to acquire a player with term this March, even through a sign-and-trade.

With where their record currently stands, the Sabres certainly have the makings of a seller at this year’s trade deadline. However, even if they were to involve themselves in the rental market this spring, the return value on players such as Zemgus Girgensons, Kyle Okposo, Victor Olofsson, and Erik Johnson may not make it worthwhile.

Assuming that Buffalo already has their sights set on next season, they could dangle their 2025 first-round selection to acquire a long-term piece, as it would take a surprise star player to enter the market for the Sabres to part with their lottery-projected 2024 first-round pick. Without much to sell, and in a position to only acquire long-term pieces, it would not be a surprise to see Buffalo be one of the more quiet teams at this year’s deadline.

Team Needs

1) Right-Shot Defenseman: Last summer, the Sabres brought in Johnson and Connor Clifton to help improve the right side of their defensive core. As things played out, neither addition has worked out as Buffalo may have hoped, as out of 29 total players, Clifton ranks 21st on the team in Corsi-For %, and Johnson ranks 24th. Desperately needing to find a serviceable option next to Power on their second defensive line, the Sabres could get aggressive and try to pry David Jiricek from the Blue Jackets, who has reportedly expressed frustration over his situation in Columbus.

2) A Definitive Solution In The Crease: An answer in the net has been one of the primary questions following Buffalo around for the last several years. Without a lot of game-changing answers on the market, it appears this question will take another year to figure out. Now, Buffalo’s goaltender prayers may be answered by either Luukkonen or Devon Levi, but neither has suggested they can fully assume that mantle. Of the two, Luukkonen has been the better option by far this season but has been extremely streaky which leads to concern. In his first eight games of the year, Luukonen produced a serviceable 3-3-1 record with a .910 SV% but followed it up with a 3-5-1 record and .876 SV% in his next nine games. Once again on a hot streak, Luukonen looks nearly unbeatable with a 6-3-0 in his last nine games coupled with a .940 SV%.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.