Buffalo Sabres Trade Rumors: Will Evander Kane Have The Blues?

The Buffalo Sabres will be involved in many trade rumors this season. Here’s one!

The Buffalo Sabres started the 2017-18 hoping that things would be different than last season.

Turns out, they were right: the team is actually WORSE at this point of the season than they were in 2016-17!  Because by November 20 of last season, the Sabres had more many points (16) after only 18 games of play as they own after having played 20 games this season (14).

As a result, the Sabres find themselves in familiar territory: dead last in the Eastern Conference, and the subject of many, many trade rumors. Specifically, left winger Evander Kane is the player whose play is generating the most interest, due to the fact that

A. He can actually score this season; and

B. He is in the last year of his contract.

Kane is literally the ONLY good story coming out of Buffalo right now, as his 11 goals are the fifth-highest total in the NHL (Kane is currently tied with six other players). His 19 points also leads the Buffalo Sabres, so it is not surprising to hear many fans on social media claiming that the Sabres “have to trade” him.

This is what a few years of tanking will do to a fanbase: convince them to sell off their best players for picks and prospects, even though years of doing exactly that has gotten us to where we are today.

(If you need a refresher of how I feel about the idea of trading Kane, here ya go!)

Regardless of what fans and writers think the Sabres should do with Kane, there is little doubt that his name will be brought up all season long as trade talk heats up.  As a matter of fact, there is already a team whose name pops up numerous times if you do a Google News search for Evander Kane: the St. Louis Blues, currently the best team in the Western Conference.

Despite getting off to the best start in team history, the Blues are relying heavily on their top line of Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, and Vladimir Tarasenko. That trio has combined to score 28 of St. Louis’ 70 goals, so scoring depth could be a problem as the Blues gear up for the playoffs.

Hockey insider Elliotte Friedman got the Kane-to-St. Louis ball rolling last Tuesday when he appeared on Vancouver’s Sportsnet 650 and had this to say about St. Louis:

"I’m wondering about a team like St. Louis, do they feel they have to answer. Nashville gets Turris. Does St. Louis feel now that they have to add something. He might be a really good fit for them."

According to Jeff Gordon of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, though, Kane is probably not the best fit:

"There is no long-term money for Kane here, so that’s a rental deal. And I don’t see this team acting like this is their final shot at contending for the Cup. Teams that see the window closing win the bidding on rental players.The Blues see their window opening, not closing."

Our friends over at FanSided’s Bleeding Blue site agree with Gordon:

"Even when healthy, the Blues have had enough issues with scoring depth *coughthirdlinecough* that you have to at least entertain the idea of improving your team through any means necessary. . .Kane is a free agent in the summer. That brings around the question of whether St. Louis wants to pick up a potential rental with a medium-high price tag.Look, the Blues definitely need some help. Whether you love or loathe Patrik Berglund, plugging him in will not fix the team’s third line problems alone. Kane could definitely be a bolster to the offense the way David Perron spread out the scoring last season.That said, the Blues should not overpay in any way, shape or form. Kane is a decent player, but Friedman seems to think there will be lots of offers. If there is a bidding war, the Blues prospects (in my opinion) are more valuable to the team than this potential addition."

For now, then, it appears as if the St. Louis Blues are not desperate enough to consider Kane. Of course, it is still early in the season, so this is a story worth putting on the back-burner and revisiting come February.  Besides, it is just the first of many trade rumors that will involve the Buffalo Sabres and Evander Kane, so stay tuned for many, more pieces such as this one!

Next: Inside the Numbers: Buffalo and the Possession Game

Sound off in the comments about what you feel about the idea of Evander Kane heading to the St. Louis Blues!