While the NHL Trade Deadline is still about two months away, it wouldn't be surprising to see trade activity pick up with Feburary basically being dedicated to the Olympics. The Buffalo Sabres should be active after an impressive win streak and a new general manager, Jarmo Kekalainen, looking to put his stamp on the roster.
It remains to be seen who exactly the Sabres might be targeting, but arguably the top trade target around the league is Kiefer Sherwood with the Vancouver Canucks. He is going to be a popular player as he is playing on an expiring contract with a very reasonable AAV of only $1.5 million.
He is well outproducing his contract with 21 points through 41 games after having a career-season last year with 40 points in 78 games after 19 goals and 21 assists. The Canucks could easily get a great return, although they have reportedly not given up hope on re-signing him, as they have continued to have conversations.
While a new offer was made, according to Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet, the two sides are seemingly very far apart, so a trade makes sense.
Buffalo Sabres' division rivals are three teams actively pursuing Kiefer Sherwood
Over the weekend, David Pagnotta with The Fourth Period reported that there were several teams interested in Sherwood. Of the five teams he listed, three are Atlantic Division rivals of the Buffalo Sabres.
"Several teams remain interested in Sherwood, including the Montreal Canadiens, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings. The Tampa Bay Lightning were considered a team with interest, but Pagnotta reported they are not currently in the mix."
The Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens are six points ahead of the Buffalo Sabres, while the Boston Bruins are currently tied with the Sabres at 46 points. It would appear the Lightning also were potentially pursuing him, but that doesn't seem to be the case anymore.
Kiefer Sherwood would be great on the Buffalo Sabres but the contract situation doesn't make sense
The Buffalo Sabres are absolutely going to be looking to improve their Top 6, and adding Sherwood would be a great fit. It gives them another goal scorer but also a threat on the power play, with already six power play goals on the season.
However, if the Sabres were to trade for him, it would probably be almost exclusively as a rental. They have too many players looking for new deals in the summer, so Sherwood would not be re-signed. The top player is Alex Tuch, who reportedly is looking for a new contract with an AAV over $10 million.
On top of him, though, players like Josh Doan, Michael Kesselring, Peyton Krebs, and Zach Benson are all restricted free agents who will need new contracts, likely with a pay increase.
When considering that there is going to be a number of teams, the return the Canucks get for Sherwood doesn't make sense for the Buffalo Sabres, as they likely only have him through the remainder of this season.