The Buffalo Sabres, unfortunately, lost another season opener, and for a team that is trying to change the perception, this season is not off to a great start. There were certainly plenty of factors that went into the 4-0 loss to the Rangers, some of which out of their control, but it raises the question how long Buffalo will continue with this group before they make changes and once again try to build for the future.
When that time comes, one of the players that could be on the move is defenseman Bowen Byram, who has generated interest around the league in the past, and the Sabres might want to start with this team.
Philadelphia Flyers reportedly were interested in trading with the Buffalo Sabres for Bowen Byram
According to Anthony Di Marco with The Daily Faceoff, the Philadelphia Flyers were interested in Byram in the past but were unwilling to pay what Buffalo was asking for. It remains to be seen when those discussions took place and whether it was before or after he signed his two-year contract this summer.
Di Marco mentions the idea of the Flyers offering a package of center Owen Tippett and defenseman Emil Andrae. It is an idea that might have more interest now than during the summer, as it gives the Sabres another defenseman, but more importantly, adds depth to a position that is lacking at center.
The depth appears it is going to be tested even more as Josh Norris is dealing with an injury. While it is unknown how long he might be out, if this is a long-term injury the Sabres need to find some way to replace him in the lineup.
Tippett is a player that has shown to be pretty durable and has played in 77 or more games over the past three seasons for the Flyers. He has been pretty productive with at least 20 goals and 20 assists in each of those seasons as well.
Tippett is also under contract for the next six seasons after this current one with a pretty reasonable AAV of $6.2 million. The move makes a lot of sense from the Sabres side and this seems to be speculation on the part of Di Marco but the longer the struggles go on, it will only increase the pressure on Kevyn Adams to make some change to hopefully salvage the season.