Buffalo Sabres: Is Florida more formidable following Tkachuk trade?

A Buffalo Sabres division rival just traded the house for star winger Matthew Tkachuk, but was the trade worth it in the short, long run?

The Buffalo Sabres will face winger Matthew Tkachuk and his Florida Panthers four times in 2022-23. But are the Sabres facing a stronger Panthers team, or did the Tkachuk trade weaken them for at least the one season?

And why did the Panthers trade away a star winger in Jonathan Huberdeau and Norris contender MacKenzie Weegar for Tkachuk? There are several theories behind this. One of which is that the Panthers did not want to dump so much money into the 29-year-old Huberdeau, as opposed to the 24-year-old Tkachuk.

Another theory is, despite the dynamic duo Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov became in Florida, it never led to anything more than repeated early playoff exits and the Panthers wanted more. This past season saw Florida win the Presidents’ Trophy and their first playoff series since 1995-96, only to collapse against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Does the Matthew Tkachuk trade put the Buffalo Sabres in a more favorable position against the Florida Panthers?

If you read my previous articles on the subject, you know where I stood regarding Tkachuk. Great player, most definitely. But not great enough for me to trade away fast-rising assets like Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin. Prospects and draft picks? Most certainly. But the trade with Florida showed the Flames were not interested in rebuilding. Not yet, anyway.

Even so, there was no way I would dismantle a foundation to trade for a guy demanding $9 million ($1 million plus $68 million in bonuses) who may or may not mesh well with my team. Especially after the players we have in Buffalo built chemistry and started winning when they eventually got healthy. I wasn’t taking that risk with dismantling that, despite Tkachuk’s accolades.

Yes, it is ultra-conservative, counterintuitive, and unconventional thinking. And it also puts the Panthers in a vulnerable position. On the upside, they got a franchise player to build the team around for another eight seasons, considering Tkachuk lives up to his contract. He is a player who will attract others to Sunrise if he continues to perform at a high level.

The Sabres could overpower Florida in the short-term given the Panthers offseason losses and minimal gains, even with Tkachuk on board.

The downsides, however, are aplenty. They lost Mason Marchment in free agency while Anthony Duclair won’t return until at least mid-season. They couldn’t retain Claude Giroux, and now they lost Weegar and Huberdeau. And in return, they got one major contributor after losing five of them. Quite the difference!  There are also plenty of question marks here.

Will Tkachuk mesh with Barkov in the same way the latter meshed with Huberdeau? Right now, at least in the short-term, the Panthers are a weaker hockey team. That can change if Tkachuk continues to live up to his billing.

But the Sabres could, at least in the short-term, hold an edge over a Florida Panthers team that needs to build chemistry and hope that the addition of Tkachuk compensates for their many losses. They also need to adequately replace the likes of Marchment, Duclair, and Giroux. Maybe Colin White and Nick Cousins will step up? Or maybe not…

As of right now, I’m keeping the Panthers locked in as my #2 team and the Sabres in at #5, as it makes zero sense to change anything because of the way teams look on paper. But once November 1st hits and both teams have played some games, something tells me I’ll be making a few.