Buffalo Sabres: Trading Victor Olofsson would be a mistake
Lance Lysowski of Buffalo News has said in a recent mailbag that Victor Olofsson is the likeliest trade candidate among Buffalo Sabres forwards.
The Buffalo Sabres would be foolish to trade winger Victor Olofsson this offseason. Lysowski also believes the team should not look to trade the winger, who scored 49 points in 72 games. And realistically, had it not been for a wrist injury slowing down his production, who knows how well Olofsson would have played?
Overall, it just makes sense to keep Olofsson around because of his effective play on the ice and cost-effectiveness of keeping him in Buffalo. Cap Friendly projects the restricted free agent’s (RFA) qualifying offer to sit at just $3.25 million. So for the Sabres, this is a dirt cheap price considering their $40 million in cap space.
Benefits of keeping Victor Olofsson with the Buffalo Sabres
At most, Olofsson would stay in Buffalo long-term. But at worst, keeping him around on a bridge contract for another season or two is something Lysowski pointed out. This would prevent the Sabres from throwing Jack Quinn and J.J. Peterka to the wolves if they are indeed on the main roster next season.
Keeping Olofsson will allow the Sabres to ease Quinn and Peterka into the lineup for between ten and fifteen minutes per game, if that. Or, if in the event that the Sabres feel they are not where they need to be, Olofsson’s presence gives the team a solid scoring option should the former two end up spending more time in the AHL.
The only way the Sabres should realistically trade Olofsson is if someone is giving them a ransom, plus an upper-echelon defenseman or goaltender. But even then, it would be surprising for general manager Kevyn Adams to make that trade.
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He recently traded for goaltender Ben Bishop’s contract, indicating he’s not looking to trade for or spend money on a bigger name this offseason. Instead, he’d like to simply hit the cap floor. Signing Olofsson to an affordable $3.25 million qualifying offer helps him do that.
Article Source: Sabres Mailbag: Goalie plan, Pilut’s status, pursuing free agents and draft day