Buffalo Sabres: Outlining three trade proposals for Tyler Bertuzzi

It is the NHL offseason and that means the Buffalo Sabres are looking at every possible scenario involving roster transactions. And that includes trades.

Last week, we were looking at potential trade scenarios regarding Patrick Kane thanks to Da Windy City’s article on the subject. Yesterday, Even Mead of FanSided’s Octopus Thrower listed the Buffalo Sabres as a potential suitor for forward Tyler Bertuzzi.

Mead writes that the former second-round pick has played well during his time in Detroit and that the potential trade is not of any wrongdoing on his part. Instead, it’s the business aspects of the NHL that may prompt the Detroit Red Wings to move Bertuzzi.

Here is a direct quote from Mead’s article:

“He’s done nothing wrong, he’s just a player that is going to make quite a bit of money after this contract and his skill-set doesn’t make him untradeable. He just kind of has the rotten end of the deal here, but once again- its a business.” – via Octopus Thrower.

Besides the Sabres, Mead also listed the Nashville Predators and the New Jersey Devils as potential destinations. Mead likes the idea of Bertuzzi coming to Buffalo because his experience can help guide one of the NHL’s youngest rosters.

And while Bertuzzi himself will only be 27 when the season begins, his six seasons of experience would slide him into both a producer and a mentor role.

Is Tyler Bertuzzi a good fit for the Buffalo Sabres?

Mead questioned whether wingers Kyle Okposo and Jeff Skinner were really players the Sabres needed. He believes Bertuzzi is a better fit overall than the aforementioned Okposo and Skinner. To an extent, he’s absolutely right. While Skinner and Okposo had redemption seasons in 2021-22, they were in the doldrums for about two seasons beforehand.

Plus, they are both 30 and 34 years old with a combined 29 years of NHL experience. Which is great when you need sound leadership. So much that Okposo is a shoo-in to wear the ‘C’ patch in 2022-23. But let’s be honest: Okposo is a lower liner and Skinner needs to prove last season was no fluke. 

Not that I’m endorsing the trade here. It’s that Bertuzzi is younger, productive, and he carries one of the NHL’s most accurate shots, having notched a career-best of 16.7 shooting percentage (min 48 games). Further, The Charging Buffalo had this to say regarding a potential move for a forward:

That said, expect at least one new face not named Jack Quinn or J.J. Peterka in either the top or bottom six next season. So, let’s play GM and break down 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. 

Sabres trade: Anders Bjork, Victor Olofsson, Casey Mittelstadt

In this final scenario, the Buffalo Sabres are just shedding three players with uncertain futures in the Queen City. Bjork did little for the Sabres last season, as Die By the Blade’s Calvin points out. The Sabres are going to do one of two things with Bjork: Trade him or cut him. In this scenario, they trade the underperforming forward to Detroit as an add-on.

We mentioned Olofsson and Mittelstadt in former slides. Mittelstadt can still redeem himself in this league, but he’s just about out of chances in Buffalo. Well, he’s out of chances if the Sabres trade him. And you can bet teams like the Red Wings may be inquiring about Olofsson’s services.

But why trade three forwards here? Well, when you have at least two coming up through the AHL ranks in J.J. Peterka and Jack Quinn, you need to make room on the roster. Further, if the Sabres can snag Arttu Ruotsalainen before he takes off for Switzerland, then that’s another forward that may move to their active roster.

That said, it should surprise no one that the Sabres trade three forwards away to acquire just one in Tyler Bertuzzi with another two moving up, and possibly a third. This trade would more than set the Sabres on track with two of the AHL’s hottest talents last season plus a productive staple in Bertuzzi.

I’d like to thank Evan Mead of Octopus Thrower for inspiring this article. You can catch Evan’s take on the trade at the following link: Should the Red Wings Explore Tyler Bertuzzi Trades This Off-Season?

(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)