After the Sabres managed to blow yet another multi-goal lead on Saturday, they dropped their 22nd game of the season in regulation. Right now, it’ll be a miracle if this team even finished over 0.500 in points, which will mean a second straight season of regression after they barely hit that mark last year.
Fans may not want to hear this just yet, but it’s becoming obvious that the Blue and Gold will be selling as the NHL trade deadline starts to loom on the horizon. Yeah, it’s creeping up already, and it’ll arrive in about a second. Or so it seems.
Anyway, let’s talk about three players who won’t be around the franchise anymore when opposing general managers pick up the phone and start negotiating with Kevyn Adams.
Dylan Cozens
Dylan Cozens is the likeliest Sabre to head elsewhere, especially since it’s becoming obvious that at least one division rival is interested in him. Over the past year and a half, we’ve seen Cozens struggle under two different coaches, and it’s becoming apparent that Buffalo isn’t the right fit for him. So the Sabres wouldn’t be taking much of a loss.
He’s also young, meaning whichever team Buffalo pawns him off to, you can expect a good return on investment. Or, at least, that’ll be the case in the short term. It wouldn’t surprise me one bit if another team overpaid for Cozens and the Sabres ended up with more draft capital and maybe even a high-end prospect to quickly implement.
Connor Clifton
Connor Clifton is showing me that he’s one of those blueliners; you just play between 15 and 16 minutes a game and let him hit and intimidate people. Okay, so maybe the intimidation factor is over-exaggerated, since this is NHL hockey. And the good old ‘down the stretch’ period ain’t time to back down to no one.
I’m looking for someone who needs to make sure their team won’t be pushed around between March and When to pick up the phone and call Kevyn Adams to get a deal done by the deadline. If they can work something out, the Sabres won’t get much in return, but they will open up a spot in the lineup for a youngster to get a little more ice time.
Sam Lafferty
Like Dylan Cozens, it’s apparent these days that Sam Lafferty’s not the ideal fit in Buffalo. There were two things I wanted to see from Lafferty when he first signed with the Sabres: physical play and faceoff wins.
None of that’s been the case, and in 32 games, Lafferty’s landed just 47 body checks and won just 29 faceoffs (46.0 percent). He’s got just four points and two goals in 32 games and 9:56 of average total ice time. Like Clifton, Lafferty won’t go for a high price, but few will lose any sleep when he’s no longer in a Sabres uniform.