Top 3 trades Buffalo Sabres need to make right now
By Sion Fawkes
Ship Craig Anderson to a contender
Craig Anderson has struggled in the net recently. And though it hasn’t been all him, the Sabres are better off getting younger at goaltender. With Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen having returned to action with the AHL’s Rochester Americans, they are in prime position to recall the 23-year-old goaltender and get something out of Anderson.
At 40, Anderson is nothing more than remainder of the season rental. So like the defensemen listed in the previous slide, it’s best to maximize his value by shipping him to a contending team that needs a goalie. Ideally, if a contender is looking for a backup as insurance policy, like the Vegas Golden Knights, the Sabres can eek out at least a mid-round draft pick for Anderson.
I also wrote that Nicolas Hague would be the ideal swap here. Hague’s contract expires following the season, so he would have 20-plus games to show that he can become part of a young rotation on the defensive pairings.
If the Sabres reached out to the Golden Knights to trade Anderson for someone like Hague, it’s a low-risk move that can bring a potentially outstanding reward. The Hague trade would also probably cost the Sabres a defenseman mentioned in the previous slide besides Anderson to fill the void the defenseman would leave behind.