Should Noah Hanifin be on the Buffalo Sabres trade radar?
By Sion Fawkes
The Buffalo Sabres could be looking to make a big trade for a defenseman to pair with second-year blueliner, Owen Power. Noah Hanifin may be on the radar.
It’s no secret that the Buffalo Sabres are going to do all they can to make a playoff run in 2023-24, but they need to improve their presence on the blue line. This past season, the Blue and Gold saw that they have three defensemen who will play in the Queen City for a long time, but the bottom three was nothing short of a disaster.
The best player to line up alongside Power last season was Ilya Lyubushkin, which isn’t saying much. Lyubushkin and Henri Jokiharju would be best-suited for the third pairing, while general manager Kevyn Adams scans the free agent or the trade market. And besides the likes of Brett Pesce, Noah Hanifin is another name that’s been thrown around the rumor mill.
So what value would Hanifin bring to the Blue and Gold, and how much could it cost to acquire him? Keep reading for more.
Noah Hanifin would be a good fit for the Buffalo Sabres
Hanifin’s age and size alone would make him a good fit on the Sabres blue line. Standing at 6’3 and weighing 207 lb, Hanifin would give Buffalo yet another imposing asset on the top four to go with Rasmus Dahlin, Mattias Samuelsson, and Owen Power. He’s also just 26, so if Adams is looking for someone to potentially fit long-term, Hanifin once again makes for a sensible trade piece.
Two drawbacks, however, are that a) Hanifin has an eight-team no-trade list, per Cap-Friendly, and b) Hanifin carries a $4.95 million cap hit this season and he’s in a contract year. We know the Sabres are looking to extend Dahlin and Power, and during the season, they could also seek to extend Casey Mittelstadt and even Peyton Krebs, as each can identify with the team’s core.
While The Athletic’s Julian McKenzie listed Krebs and the 13th overall pick as a potential trade package for Hanifin, I highly doubt the Sabres part with the Calgary native. Krebs started making a name for himself on the Sabres PK unit last season, which for the longest time was a major weakness for the team. Krebs is also a bruiser on the fourth line, and he was outstanding on both defense and in possession exits. That said, it’s tough to see the Sabres giving up Krebs.