Buffalo Sabres Still Need Help On D – Is Cam Fowler Still An Option?

The Buffalo Sabres may still be looking out West in order to flesh out their blueline.

If you are a Buffalo Sabres fan – and why wouldn’t you be?  You’re here, aren’t ya?!? – you have good cause to celebrate.

For starters, the Sabres picked up two Swedish players in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft who look they could have a big impact on the team’s future success in Alexander Nylander and Rasmus Asplund.

In addition, the Sabres used the draft weekend to trade for Dmity Kulikov, who could become a nice shut-down blueliner for this team.

And, of course, the Sabres went fishing in the UFA pool and reeled in right-winger Kyle Okposo, who certainly makes the Sabres a much, much better offensive team.

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The problem is, the Buffalo Sabres lost Chad Johnson to free agency and brought in a big question mark in Anders Nilsson, who might not even replace Johnson as Robin Lehner‘s backup.  And no offense to the afore-mention Kulikov and Justin “No U” Falk, but Buffalo’s defense is at best even with where it ended the 2015-16 season.

Aside from Okposo, then, there is no one that the Sabres brought on board who will drastically improve this team next season, so you have to wonder if GM Tim Murray is still in talks with Anaheim Ducks GM Bob Murray about sending Cam Fowler to the 716.

At least one so-called “source” has hinted that the Sabres are, indeed, still mulling over a package that would get Fowler into Buffalo:

That Tweet may not look like much, but if you read the article it quickly lists a rumor that involves the Sabres sending Zemgus Girgensons and who knows what to SoCal in exchange for Fowler’s services.

Granted, there is nothing beyond rumors at this point, so don’t take that Tweet as anything substantive.  But Steve Fryer over at The Orange County Register just wrote a piece Wednesday in which he mused about the possibility of Anaheim shipping Fowler out of town:

"The Ducks have nine defensemen on the roster; teams dress six or seven defensemen for a game. The talk continues that 24-year-old defenseman Cam Fowler, who will some day be the team’s best blue-liner if he’s not already, will be traded. The Ducks still look shallow at left wing, so we shall see."

SInce Murray was clearly interested in moving Fowler during the draft, it stands to reason that he would still be open to any offers that are coming his way, so GMTM might still be assembling packages to see if any appeal to his brother from another mother.

If you spend enough time on Twitter, however, you will figure out pretty quickly that fan opinion on whether the Sabres should give up a player of value in order to bring Cam Fowler into the system is divided.  Taking a look at Fowler’s HERO chart, courtesy of Own The Puck, it is easy to see why:

From an offensive perspective, Fowler is a no-brainer.  He may not score a ton, but he creates plays for his teammates and could be that left-handed quarterback Murray was dreaming about during his end-of-season presser.  He has the wheels and the hands required to move the puck out of the defensive zone and up ice in a hurry, and there is not much doubt that the Buffalo Sabres would have a better offense when Fowler has the puck on his stick . . .

. . . but when you look at his possession numbers, egad.  Sabres fans who want to see Fowler paired alongside Rasmus Ristolainen are swimming up the analytics stream, as both of these blueliners contribute to their team’s possession numbers at the level of a top 6 defenseman. Should Dan Bylsma throw Ristolainen and Fowler on the ice together, he would be putting tremendous pressure on his forwards, although Ryan O’Reilly, Evander Kane and Kyle Okposo tend to strong in both individual production and productive possession.

Next: Sabres Must Remain Patient With Nylander and Guhle

Cam Fowler is probably the blueliner who sits atop the wishlist of many Buffalo Sabres fans, and there is little doubt that he could boost the Sabres’ scoring if he is paired with the right players on the ice.  Still, his liabilities on the defensive end are tough to ignore, which makes him a polarizing figure among the fanbase.  Given the fact that there are not too many top-4 LHD whose teams are willing to part ways with them right now, the Sabres really don’t have a lot of options as they continue to try and shore up their blueline, and it’s not like there is anyone currently on the Sabres’ roster who generates scoring opportunities like Fowler would.  Beggars can’t be choosers, so we’ll see just how needy the Sabres front office feels this team is as the summer goes on.