Which defenseman would the Buffalo Sabres realistically trade for?
There will be a slew of defensemen the Buffalo Sabres can realistically trade for prior to the NHL’s trade deadline on March 3rd.
While you will see big names like John Klingberg, Shane Gostisbehere, Matt Dumba, Vladislav Gavrikov, Jake McCabe, Jakob Chychrun, and Erik Karlsson, to name a few, possibly on the move, the Buffalo Sabres won’t deviate far from their plan if they trade for a defenseman. Therefore, don’t expect Adams to break the bank and pull off a blockbuster to land a huge name mentioned above.
This means you likely won’t see players like Karlsson or Chychrun come to town. However, you also shouldn’t expect the Blue and Gold to trade for anyone whose contract is expiring following the 2022-23 season unless there’s a good chance that they can keep that individual in Buffalo for at least until 2023-24, or ideally, longer.
So who would epitomize a realistic candidate? Robert MacDonald of Last Word on Sports cited that Dan Rosen has an answer for who the Sabres ideal fit would be at defenseman, and that is Joel Edmundson of the Montreal Canadiens. But this, of course, leads us to wonder whether Montreal would be willing to trade within the division.
Look for the Buffalo Sabres to trade for an ideal fit for the team
While I find it farfetched that the Sabres would land Edmundson simply because it wouldn’t be easy to trade within the Atlantic, it’s believable they will trade for a defenseman with his playing style. Edmundson is a physical player who could generate up to 20 minutes of total time on ice per contest.
The Sabres have been outmuscled and bullied numerous times this season, and an Edmundson type of defenseman would be a perfect fit to offset that. Someone like Edmundson would add a physical edge to the Sabres as they look to improve what has been an inconsistent rotation this season.
light. Related Story. Sabres MUST improve blue line before trade deadline
Overall, the Sabres need physicality, but also a defenseman that won’t come at an astronomical cost. Ideally, they’d also want to keep that player around for a while. So consider those three factors when general manager Kevyn Adams seeks to improve the rotation by the deadline.
Article Source: NHL Rumours: Buffalo Sabres Want a Defenceman Before Deadline by Robert MacDonald
Want your voice heard? Join the Sabre Noise team!