Five Early Trade Targets to Help Buffalo Sabres Playoff Push
The Buffalo Sabres are watching their playoff hopes slip away as they continue to struggle.
After a 7-2 throttling at the hands of the Edmonton Oilers, the Buffalo Sabres continue to trend away from a playoff position. As the season rolls onward, fans are left wondering what is needed or what can be done to fix the issue.
While General Manager Jason Botteril has been adamant that he doesn’t want to trade future pieces for “now” players or rentals, there are some options that he could look at in order to shake up the roster. These options come from my personal opinion only and are not confirmed as players that the Sabres are actively persuing.
There are a number of assets that the Buffalo Sabres have that can be expendable, especially if it means adding depth in areas they drastically need it.
So here’s 5 very Early Trade Targets that the Buffalo Sabres could use to strengthen their roster for a playoff push, and possibly a playoff run.
Jakob Silfverberg has had his name tossed around the rumor mill in general this season, especially after Anaheim has also torpedoed their own playoff hopes with a current 12 game losing streak. If the Ducks recognize their situation as drastic, they may be selling Silfverberg at a decent price.
Silfverberg currently has 12 goals and 7 assists so far this season. He is a 28 year old forward with some grit and playoff experience. While he has never been an elite player, he is consistently hard working and has a reliable scoring touch.
One thing that the Buffalo Sabres have lacked all season has been secondary scoring. Silfverberg will bring that to the table along with a playing style that would compliment a Center’s like Casey Mittelstadt very well.
The question is what we would trade for him. He currently has a $3.75M cap hit for the reminder of this season, and then he will be a UFA by the end of June, so he will be a rental player, but if he’s provided the right atmosphere, he would likely stay, especially considering the train wreck currently in Anaheim.
Anaheim would look to fill the gap left by him, or pick up a scoring prospect. The Buffalo Sabres could offer up Zemgus Girgensons, alongside a pick (2nd-3rd round) to land Silfverberg. Anaheim would add a young forward and a pick that could turn into a player similar to Silfverberg.
The Buffalo Sabres have been feeling the loss of former center Ryan O’Reilly on the second line. It wasn’t just his face off ability that brought value to the table, but it was his secondary scoring ability. For these reasons, I have pinpointed Florida Panthers center, Vincent Trochek.
Trochek broke out last season with a 31 goal 75 point campaign, so his $4.75M cap hit is a steal for the Panthers. He is only 25 years old and is just entering his prime.
Trochek brings everything that the Buffalo Sabres would need; goal scoring, playmaking ability, defensive responsibility, speed, and youth. It would cost the Buffalo Sabres a bit more to land a player of his caliber, but it would be worth it. He is under contract until the 2022 season so the Sabres would even have time left with his bargain contract.
He would jump directly into the second line center position, but he has the ability to play first line minutes if the Sabres ever went without Jack Eichel for a period of time again.
What could the Sabres pay for him though? Considering his skill level, his contract, and his potential, it would be a little expensive. If Buffalo would make an offer for him, it would have to fill the Florida needs. They could use another depth defender, and a young offensive forward or prospect to counter Trochek’s departure. The Sabres could offer up forward Alex Nylander, defenseman Marco Scandella, and a 1st or 2nd round pick.
The Buffalo Sabres have struggled on defensive responsibility a lot this season, and besides Dahlin could use a little more upside with their left handed defenders. While Jake McCabe is a worthy and capable defenseman, he fits a second or third pairing role with penalty killing time. A defenseman that would fill in that slight gap perfectly would be Zach Werenski.
Now I know what some of you are thinking. There’s no way Columbus trades a potential cornerstone defender, especially when he’s just finishing up his entry level contract. While this is an unlikely situation for sure, Columbus still may be willing to deal, especially with the stellar play of their all star defender Seth Jones.
Werenski is a two way defender with some key offensive upside. Last season he scored 16 goals, and this year he already had 9. Beyond Ristolainen and Dahlin, no other Sabres defenseman has the ability to put up those numbers.
What would it cost for him though?
For a potential top end defenseman playing well before his prime, it’ll cost a pretty penny. First, Buffalo would have to send a roster defenseman in return, likely Scandella or McCabe. Then they would have to add in some young talents to balance the scales. Columbus may ask for Sabres prospect Metaj Pekar, or Alex Nylander; possibly even Victor Olofsson, and on top of that would need to be a first round pick, possibly a second. Is it worth the price? It just might be to shore up the defense.
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is a part of the Oilers young core, but he has never quite lived up to his #1 overall pick draft stock. Injuries and bad situations have plagued him over the years and he’s found himself the subject of trade rumors in that time.
He was supposed to end up as the Oilers top line center, but that mantle was dominantly taken over by superstar Connor McDavid, and Nuge has found himself on McDavid’s wing or on the line below him.
At a $6M cap hit for the next three seasons, he is a bit cap heavy, but he has all the makings of a perfect #2 center for the Buffalo Sabres.
Since the Oilers GM has a history of making bad trades (i.e Taylor Hall for Adam Larsson) I think they would be able to get him for a reasonable price. Honestly, Buffalo could offer up Kyle Okposo and a mid round pick and the Oilers might just take it for some reason. Who knows, otherwise we could reasonably offer up Okposo and a second rounder alongside a mid round pick.
I know, I know. Another St. Louis player coming to the Buffalo Sabres? What’s wrong with me for suggesting something like this. Let me tell you, it’s a much better idea than it may seem.
Brayden Schenn has emerged as one of the better two way centers in the league, and he is still young enough to make this trade worth it. He is 27 years old and is under contract for this season and next season for about $5.2M. This would give Buffalo the flexibility to use him as much as possible and then trade him the next season, or resign him to a similar contract.
Schenn is a scoring threat, but is also defensively responsible in both the neutral zone and defensive zone. He’s struggled a bit this year and his team is having issues too. This has caused the Blues to want a bit of a fire sale. Every player down to Vladimir Tarasenko is possibly up for grabs, and for the right price, Schenn would make a fantastic addition to the Sabres offense.
In order to get him, it would be a bit tricky. If the Blues are fire selling, that means they want youth for the future. Buffalo has their first round pick due to the O’Reilly trade so they will probably want that back, they will ask for top end prospects like Nylander, Laaksonen, or Olofsson, and a roster player to fill the hole. I’d give them their first rounder back for Schenn, but I wouldn’t give up a top prospect on top of it, giving them a younger forward like Girgensons or Rodrigues would be a bit more reasonable, and then giving them a lower end prospect like Smith. Or giving them Pilut along with a lower end player like Larsson would be more reasonable alongside the first rounder.
So what do you all think of these ideas? Is there a player you think Buffalo should target prior to the deadline that could help reinvigorate their playoff hopes?