The Buffalo Sabres want to make a splash, and general manager Jarmo Kekalainen is doing his due diligence, even reportedly calling the Dallas Stars about restricted free agent Jason Robertson. According to David Pagnotta on Daily Faceoff Rundown on Thursday, he mentioned the Buffalo Sabres have 'poked around' on Robertson.
"I think Buffalo has poked around to an extent but I don't know if they want to go to that type of money," Pagnotta said.
Jason Robertson would be a great fit for the Buffalo Sabres but has numerous roadblocks that makes a deal unlikely
Any Sabres fan would hope that Jarmo Kekalainen would pick up the phone to at least see what it might take to add a player like Jason Robertson. He is an elite goalscorer who has averaged almost 40 goals per season over the past five seasons.
There are not many players who are available who would be a clear upgrade over the departing Alex Tuch, but Robertson certainly fits that description.
However, there are numerous challenges that stand in the way of getting a deal done for the restricted free agent. The first being whether or not Robertson would even consider Buffalo, but assuming he did, the next step would be working out a new contract.
On Thursday night, Elliotte Friedman reported that the Seattle Kraken offered an eight-year contract with an AAV of $15 million, but Robertson rejected that offer. He probably didn't like the situation or the team as much as the offer, but it gives the rest of the league the type of contract he is looking for, and they probably can't come in much less than that if they hope to sign him.
For the Sabres to offer such a contract, they would have to clear cap space, and they could do so in a trade package that maybe includes a Jack Quinn, who has a contract with an AAV of around $3.4 million. However, even if they get Robertson to agree to come to Buffalo and agree to a contract like the one the Kraken offered, they would still need to work out a trade package with the Dallas Stars.
There has also been some reporting on what teams have been offering the Stars for Robertson, and Jeff Marek reported the St. Louis Blues were prepared to offer four first-round picks for the star forward. While none of those picks are as high as the number four that the Sabres have, it is going to cost them multiple firsts to complete a deal.
The Buffalo Sabres certainly would love to have Jason Robertson and he would be a great addition, there just seems to be too many hurdles to get a deal done.
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