Chris Stewart, Evander Kane Perfect Match For Buffalo Sabres
Right now, the Buffalo Sabres having Evander Kane on their roster is purely speculation, as there are several teams no doubt interested in Kane. Landing Kane without having to deal Chris Stewart should make the Buffalo Sabres want to resign Chris Stewart even more.
The Buffalo Sabres want to win the Stanley Cup, and as history has shown us, the road to the Stanley Cup goes through the Western Conference. Four of the last five Stanley Cups have come from the West, with the Boston Bruisn sprinkled in for variety. Six of the nine Stanley Cups since the lockout have been won by the Western Conference.
The year after the lockout you might want to count as a fluke, because the Carolina Hurricanes needed only get through the injury depleted Buffalo Sabres, and then the Edmonton Oilers. Take a look at what either of those two franchises has done since, and you almost want to take the Cup away from Carolina.
The future of the Buffalo Sabres is bright, at the end of this season you are going to be (hopefully) landing Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel to your roster. A roster that already includes Sam Reinhart, Zemgus Girgensons, Rasmus Ristolainen and Nikita Zadorov. Talented young stars that are going to do well on this team.
The Buffalo Sabres control the immediate future of Chris Stewart. He is in the final year of his contract, and will be able to shop all thirty teams come trade deadline day. If Chris Stewart wants to stay in Buffalo, Tim Murray needs to make that happen, especially if he is able to land Evander Kane.
The Buffalo Sabres have long been considered a soft team in the National Hockey League. Soft teams don’t win championships. Trading Chris Stewart for Evander Kane makes your team softer this year, and most likely gets you a lock for one of the top two draft picks. Trading for Evander Kane and extending Chris Stewart will make the Buffalo Sabres an extremely difficult team to play against next year, as the Buffalo Sabres will be able to roll out two lines that will not only be able to score on you, but are going to make you pay physically as well.
I have long been on the side of the house that wants to extend Chris Stewart. There are several factors that are key into making that not happen. First off, Chris Stewart was brought in via trade that included William Carrier, Jaraslav Halak, and two draft picks.
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Buffalo will likely trade away the first round draft pick they received from the St. Louis Blues in the Evander Kane deal. Ultimately that means the Buffalo Sabres rented Chris Stewart and Halak, while getting a non-NHL ready prospect in Carrier, and a third round draft pick for Ryan Miller and Steve Ott.
Chris Stewart is a competitor though, and wants to be on a winning team. Starting next year, if the Buffalo Sabres can land Evander Kane, with all the other moves that have been and will be done, should be starting to press for the Stanley Cup Playoffs as opposed to another draft lottery.
Having two big ego’s with an attitude problem might not be a head coach and captain’s dream, but the hell that will be raised on the ice, and their ability to put the puck in the net, would make having Chris Stewart and Evander Kane on the same team a one-two punch that the Buffalo Sabres will need to compete against the Western Conference.
Keep Nicolas Deslauriers around for the third or fourth line, and the Buffalo Sabres will have offensive power, a young growing defense, and physicality that has been missing for some time.