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.