The Buffalo Sabres are expected to be one of the more active teams during the NHL Draft and have made it clear that the fourth overall pick is available. One of the teams that has reportedly called about that pick is the Calgary Flames.
On Friday morning, The Fourth Period's David Pagnotta tweeted that the Calgary Flames had talked with the Buffalo Sabres about moving up to fourth overall. This could be an interesting trade partner for the Sabres, as the Flames right now have the sixth overall pick, and it could set them up to get a prospect they really like while adding an NHL player.
Who might the Buffalo Sabres target in a trade with the Calgary Flames?
When looking at the Flames roster, there are two players who have reportedly been made available that might make sense for the Sabres. The Flames have been busy like the Sabres this offseason and already completed a trade with the New Jersey Devils for Simon Nemec. That move could make a player like Zach Whitecloud.
Whitecloud is a right-handed defenseman who was traded by the Vegas Golden Knights to the Flames in the Rasmus Andersson trade during the 2025-26 season. He is a veteran with almost 400 NHL games and averaged over 18 minutes per game.
For the Sabres, he immediately can step in as the fourth defenseman in place of Byram and has a great contract with two more years remaining and an AAV of $2.75 million.
Another player who could be of interest is Connor Zary, who was the 24th overall pick by the Flames in 2020 and has played the past three seasons in the NHL. He is a younger player with some upside, but he averaged around 12 goals per season.
According to Darren Dreger, the asking price from the Flames is the equivalent of a second-round pick.
For the Sabres, a trade package of the fourth overall pick and the third they acquired from the Washington Capitals for the sixth overall pick, Connor Zary, and Zach Whitecloud could be a trade that makes sense for both sides.
The good news for the Buffalo Sabres is they have options and they can go several different directions with the additional draft capital they have now and that starts with the fourth overall pick.
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