Buffalo Sabres: Outlining three trade proposals for Tyler Bertuzzi

Sabres trade: Casey Mittelstadt, Jacob Bryson, Erik Portillo, 2022 second-round pick

This trade works in the Buffalo Sabres favor in a few ways. One, they are getting rid of an underachiever in Mittelstadt who could desperately use a change of scenery. This scenario lets Buffalo give him a chance to resurrect his career elsewhere.

Bryson is a solid up-and-coming defenseman who would be great for a budding team like the Red Wings. He’d be solid on the Sabres too, but he is the odd-man-out in the defensive rotation and he would not play full-time in Buffalo if the Sabres were to sign or trade for a veteran defenseman.

Portillo is a goaltender prospect who would be far more likely to sign with a hometown team (he plays at Michigan) than he would in small market Buffalo. Especially with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi garnering most of the attention.

Finally, Bertuzzi has proven himself worth a second-round pick. Sabres fans should lose no sleep whatsoever if their team gave up a second-rounder. Especially with three picks in the first round and a plethora of prospects having signed with the team over the past few months.

*This was the trade scenario Mead used in his article based on our collaboration.