Rumors has it that the Buffalo Sabres might be willing to part with a troubled forward, but who wants him, and how much would they pay?
Unless you live under a rock, or in a cave, or under a rock deep inside a cave, or in your mother’s wi-fi- and cable television-free basement, you already know that Buffalo Sabres forward and current distraction, Evander Kane, was arrested Friday, July 22.
The arrest stems from the incidents of June 24, so it’s not like this is a new distraction for the Sabres to deal with, but it should be apparent that no one in the Buffalo Sabres organization enjoys seeing one of their top-6 forwards being photographed in handcuffs. That sort of bad press will haunt the Buffalo Sabres organization for the rest of the summer and possibly even the regular season, so it should come as a surprise to no one that rumors are swirling regarding Evander Kane being traded.
Report: If the Sabres can sign Jimmy Vesey, they might be more willing to trade Evander Kane https://t.co/3yDsEg9AUT pic.twitter.com/z667xfkr1a
— NBC Sports (@NBCSports) July 25, 2016
Hearing #Sabres willingness to deal Evander Kane (or the desired return if he is on the block) depends on whether Vesey signs. #Canucks
— Matthew Sekeres (@mattsekeres) July 23, 2016
Basically, if TSN 1040 (Vancouver) radio host Matthew Sekeres is to be believed, the fate of Evander Kane lies in the hands of Jimmy Vesey.
Interesting!
It’s true that acquiring Vesey would make losing Kane a whole lot easier to swallow, since Vesey appears to be destined for a top-6 role wherever he winds up. Still, Vesey is an unproven commodity, so gaining him will not offset what the Sabres would lose if they traded Kane – and who in the world would give up anything of value right now for Kane, anyway? We wondered if GM Tim Murray would be willing to take 60 cents on the dollar for Kane a little while back; now, it seems like GMTM would be lucky to get that much. It’s not realistic to think that GMTM could get a top-6 forward or top-4 defenseman for Kane, but then again, Sabres fans should not be in a hurry to see Kane get traded for a third-round draft pick, especially since the team will still be better in 2016-17 with Kane on the roster than without him.
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A lot of Buffalo Sabres fans would love to see the team trade Evander Kane right now, which makes sense emotionally but not logically. Kane currently wears the dreaded “Underachiever” tag, because he’s a kid with loads of talent whose off-ice troubles are all people care about at this stage of his career. It’s hard to see anyone giving up much of anything for Kane during the offseason, so even if the Sabres sign Vesey, Evander Kane is most likely going to be Buffalo’s headache for at least half of the upcoming season. Let’s just hope he has finally figured out it is in his best interest to lay low.