Top Buffalo Sabres players to be traded this offseason
With a fast-approaching trade deadline, one thing is clear: The Buffalo Sabres will sell, but they won’t clean house.
Who will the Buffalo Sabres wait to trade in the offseason? Expect them to work the phones and look to trade veteran players who have accrued value. Not everyone on this list will have all-out offensive statistics that will help any team they’re traded to in scoring. But they will serve a potentially new team in one way, shape, or form.
In return, look for the Sabres to strike deals for draft picks and even prospects to fill other spots in their organization from the AHL-downward. If the Sabres trade the right players for the right place, you can at least hold out hope they will become buyers both at next season’s trade deadline and next offseason.
But first, they have some roster reshaping to do. So which Sabres, if they remain with the team beyond the trade deadline, will wind up somewhere else before October 2022? Here are three names.
Casey Mittelstadt
While Mittelstadt seems to have lost all his value, the truth is, he hasn’t. Remember, it was Mittelstadt who won the job for the team’s top scoring line at center coming out of training camp (source: Buffalo Hockey Beat). Injuries hampered his production, and he has just six points to show for it.
Mittelstadt is curious case, because it’s hard to call the 23-year-old a seasoned veteran. He has 175 games of NHL experience, but his production has never been there.
So how does Mittelstadt even have value at this point? Former first-round picks almost always hold at least a little more value. Especially top-ten picks. So it’s easy for another team to say, “Hey, Mittelstadt is a good hockey player, the Sabres just mishandled him.”
And a team like that would pay a generous price for Mittelstadt, even if 2021-22 shows us an indication that players like Dylan Cozens, Tage Thompson, and Peyton Krebs have far outshone the struggling center. He will need to continue his career elsewhere.
Zemgus Girgensons
A favorite from his Buffalo Sabres teammates, Girgensons finally returned to the lineup in the 6-1 blowout loss to the Edmonton Oilers. And while it’s not likely the Sabres will move Girgensons before the trade deadline, the 28-year-old is an ideal candidate to serve a would-be contender on the lower lines.
Girgensons has shown limited offensive ability since he made his NHL debut in 2013-14, having never recorded over 30 points in a single season. However, he excels in puck control and he makes an excellent fourth-liner who can maintain control of the puck and set things up for the scoring lines.
And Girgenson’s puck control gets better with age. He has committed 12 or fewer giveaways over his last four seasons of action, with just seven in 2021-22 over 35 games. A team figuring to contend next season will overvalue Girgensons this offseason.
Kyle Okposo
Signed through 2022-23, the Sabres will pay Okposo $4 million if they keep him around for the next season, but he’s way too valuable to just let go for nothing. Earlier, I’ve stated that Okposo would be a dream trade for the Sabres (after Jack Eichel went to Vegas and Sam Reinhart, Florida) because he brings more than just production on the lower lines. Okposo also brings leadership.
Sure, $4 million is a hefty price for any team, even a strong contender, to pay for the 34-year-old winger. But if the Sabres are looking to eek out some middle-round draft picks and perhaps a few high-end prospects, Okposo is the guy to trade.
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No, not every franchise will promise the Sabres a ransom. But strong contenders who see Okposo’s value as a leader in the locker room will willingly compensate the Sabres for his services. At the very least, they need to throw around the idea of moving Okposo.