Former Buffalo Sabres general manager Kevyn Adams once warned the team's fans to temper expectations about possible acquisitions because of non-hockey factors.
"We're not a destination city right now. We don't have palm trees, we have taxes in New York and these are things you deal with. I'm in conversations every day and there's a lot of players that we're on their [no-trade] list," Adams told reporters in December 2024.
Apparently being the hottest team in the league doesn't automatically change how players view Western New York or the Sabres organization.
The latest example arrived Thursday when St. Louis Blues defenseman Colton Parayko opted not to waive his no-trade clause to join Buffalo ahead of Friday's 2026 NHL trade deadline.
It was reported current Sabres GM Jarmo Kekalainen was prepared to send top defensive prospect Radim Mrtka and a first-round draft pick to St. Louis for the 32-year-old blueliner.
Changing the Buffalo Sabres' reputation will take time, lag behind the rapidly improving on-ice results
The Sabres are on a roll. They've posted a 25-5-2 record over their past 32 games dating back to a Dec. 9 win over the Edmonton Oilers. They've surged up the Eastern Conference standings and are now just two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the Atlantic Division lead.
It'd be hard to blame people outside of Buffalo for not fully buying into the hype yet, though. This is a franchise that owns the longest playoff drought in NHL history (14 years) and has repeatedly stubbed its toe with roster-building decisions over the past decade.
Concerns like that don't evaporate overnight, especially when it comes to veteran players who understand what it takes to win a Stanley Cup. That's the case for Parayko, who raised Lord Stanley with the Blues in 2019.
Beyond that, the outside elements are a part of the equation, too. New York's taxes are a concern and Buffalo can be awfully cold with a lot of snow in the winter. Those aren't secrets.
Those realities paired with the Sabres' history is always going to cause players, and their agents, to think twice when they have a no-trade clause in their back pocket.
That said, Kekalainen should absolutely keep swinging for the fences.
Adams seemed to become paralyzed with fear of rejection. Buffalo was rarely linked to any high-profile trade candidates during the latter stage of his GM tenure, even when the club was making a serious push to make the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Kekalainen must continue to target high-impact players like Parayko and Blues teammate Robert Thomas. Work out trades, make your case to the player why things are changing in Buffalo and hope they're willing to ride the wave the Blue and Gold are on right now.
It's far better to seek out meaningful ways to upgrade the roster than sit back with a preconceived sense of resignation that the top trade candidates will always reject Buffalo.
Parayko did, but that doesn't mean everybody is going to do the same indefinitely. If things don't work out before Friday's deadline, get back on the horse over the summer and keep trying to find a blockbuster trade or two to maximize the roster's chances of contention.
One thing's for sure: The Sabres' likely return to the postseason in the coming months will show players there's no better hockey market in the United States than Buffalo.
Those who accept the challenge of trying to help the Sabres get over the hump will be treated as heroes if they can bring a championship to the City of Good Neighbors.