Can the Sabres get better at the Trade deadline?
By Tim Redinger
It’s no surprise that guys around the league are packing their bags this time of the year. Many times, thats not the case in Buffalo – especially for the fan favorites – and more importantly the organizational favorites.
There is no big name free agent in Buffalo this year that is going to get the chance to test the waters, so the Sabres are in no rush to trade for a piece of the puzzle that could help them win the Stanley Cup.
With Toronto already looking to build for next season why not target that roster with the hopes and wishes of a team that is destined to do whatever it takes this year. So why aren’t the Sabres shopping in their own backyard?
I don’t like trading within the division – the Paille to Boston trade earlier this year was negligible. I would have made that move in a heart beat – but the opportunity is there. There is one name that comes to mind when I think about shopping in Toronto.
Thomas Kaberle.
You put him on this Sabres team and he already has more points than everyone on the team except Tim Connolly. Kaberle leads the Leafs with 43 points – and thats on a team fighting it out for the best chance at winning the draft lottery.
Stack his numbers against striclty the D man, and he would beat everyone except Myers. He would lead the team in assists.
He would be one hell of an addition to the blueline.
Now all of this gets snagged up on one thing, is Kaberle for sale or are the Leafs looking to restructure around him. Given the fact that the Leafs want to turn things around and start fresh, my money would be on that a price could be found to buy him out of Toronto.
Now the question becomes, can Buffalo afford him. Well we have plenty of spare parts lying around that we might be able to come up with an offer. How about Jochen Hecht, who annually gets lost on the third line here in Buffalo. How about Drew Stafford, who had a couple of glimpses of greatness after he was benched by Lindy Ruff. The message didn’t stick, and neither should be. Nathan Paetsch could go and not many would miss him, hell I haven’t really seen him dress much at all on this team anyway. In 11 games he has one goal, and one assist. Anyone miss Nathan Paetsch?
Adam Mair has already been shown the door. His uninspired play saw him pass through the waiver wire once already this year. Would you miss a guy on the roster who through 40 games has 2 goals and five assists? Matt Ellis might be a role player you can bundle in a trade, he has the same numbers as Mair and has played in six more games.
I wouldn’t even mind seeing Derek Roy or Clarke MacArthur put in a bundle of players. You wouldn’t even need to replace them in the trade, because you have Ennis and Gerbe waiting in the wings.
Im not going to get all bent on rumors – so I am going to stick to my normal MO of waiting for the deadline to pass. That way, I am not so disappointed in Regier that nothing was done again.
But then again, Kaberle is believable – Kovalachuck isn’t.