Over the past two days, the St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres have been involved in deep trade discussions. On Tuesday, it was reported that the Sabres were making a push for Robert Thomas, but those talks slowed, and the Sabres appear to pivot to defenseman Colton Parayko.
That trade got much further to the point it was reported the two teams agreed on a trade package that would send a first-round pick and last year's first-round pick Radim Mrtka to the Blues, according to TSN's Darren Dreger.
While it seems the heavy lifting is done between the two teams, the trade hasn't been finalized yet, as Parayko has a full no-trade clause in his contract. On Wednesday, the Blues had a game in Seattle against the Kraken, and while Parayko did not play, he was seen in the locker room after the game. Maybe to say goodbye to teammates, or maybe get some thoughts on whether he should waive it?
Parayko did come to the game tonight and was seen walking out of the locker room afterwards. But again, to my knowledge, no official decision has been made on waiving his NTC to Buffalo.
— Jeremy Rutherford (@jprutherford) March 5, 2026
The Blues are staying in SEA tonight, flying to SJ tomorrow, and scheduled to be off.…
How long can the Buffalo Sabres afford to wait on a decision from Parayko?
As was seen with the Tyler Myers situation recently, the longer teams wait for a decision, the more likely they are to waive the clause drops. It was reported that there was a trade agreed to between the Vancouver Canucks and Detroit Red Wings, Myers waited to see if other teams might get involved, and he ultimately went to the Dallas Stars.
Could Parayko be taking a similar strategy to see if another team that he might be more interested in gets involved in discussions? For the Buffalo Sabres, though, they can't just wait patiently for a decision as the trade deadline is less than 48 hours away.
The Sabres will need to add some depth to their blueline, and Parayko would be a great fit because he is not just depth but a top-line defenseman. It gives Lindy Ruff the opportunity to reshuffle his pairs if he sees fit or, at the very least, balance the minutes better across the three pairs with Parayko on a third pair with Michael Kesselring or Conor Timmins, once he returns from his injury.
Parayko has played all 11 seasons in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues, and that type of tenure certainly has to factor into his decision. He was a big part of their Stanley Cup in 2019, and during that playoff run, he averaged over 25 minutes of ice time per game.
Parayko's leadership and playoff experience would be incredibly valuable to the Buffalo Sabres as they look to be on track to end their 14-season playoff drought. The fit from the Sabres' perspective looks great, and the defenseman addresses a number of needs, both this season and beyond.
However, at some point, general manager Jarmo Kekalainen might have to pivot to make sure he is able to get something done before the trade deadline. It will be an interesting test for the Sabres' general manager over the next few days, leading up to the Friday afternoon deadline.