The Buffalo Sabres' eight-game winning streak has pushed aside any thought about new general manager Jarmo Kekalainen immediately making a flurry of roster moves, but that doesn't mean there won't be a marquee deal or two ahead of the 2026 NHL trade deadline in March.
Buffalo has an abundance of talent on its blue line as a remarkable jump in performance from Mattias Samuelsson has vaulted him into a first-pair role alongside Rasmus Dahlin. The Blue and Gold also feature Owen Power, Bowen Byram and Michael Kesselring on the back end.
It's reasonable to believe Kekalainen may use that area of strength as he hunts a high-scoring forward before the deadline, and Sportsnet's Ryan Dixon was on the same wavelength as he delivered his bold predictions for the NHL in 2026.
"The Buffalo Sabres will re-sign Alex Tuch to an eight-year deal and trade defenceman Owen Power before the March 6 trade deadline," Dixon wrote.
Trading Power, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NHL Draft, would come with a lot of risk for Buffalo, but he could also yield a massive return.
Owen Power is close to a notable NHL milestone for the Sabres
Power's next assist will be his 100th since joining Buffalo late in the 2021-22 season. It's probably taken a bit longer than the organization hoped to reach that point given the sky-high expectations when it selected him atop the draft four years ago.
The 6-foot-6 defender has solid underlying numbers during the current campaign — his 53.6% expected goals for percentage (xGF%) at 5-on-5 is the best mark among Sabres defensemen, per Natural Stat Trick — but his point production has lagged with just three goals and seven helpers in 36 games.
Given Dahlin's status as the club's top defenseman and power-play quarterback, it doesn't make a ton of sense for the Blue and Gold to keep both Power and Byram for the long haul.
Byram is the more obvious trade candidate since his contract runs out after next season (Power is linked to Buffalo through 2030-31). But his league-wide trade value is uncertain after a sluggish start to the season, though he's played much better lately.
Power would surely generate much more impressive offers from around the league, especially if Kekalainen is trying to land a game-changing forward.
However, sending him elsewhere could come back to haunt the Sabres because there's certainly some untapped potential he could unlock in a first-pair and top-PP role with another team.
Is signing Alex Tuch to a long-term contract extension wise for Buffalo?
The Sabres would like to keep Tuch, a foundational player who's from nearby Syracuse, a fact confirmed by Kekalainen during his introductory press conference.
Yet, it's fair to ask whether signing a 29-year-old player to a lucrative eight-year contract is the right move for a franchise that'll soon face some key financial considerations.
Zach Benson, Josh Doan, Michael Kesselring and Peyton Krebs will all be restricted free agents over the summer, and Buffalo will have $6.4 million in salary-cap space tied up in Jeff Skinner's buyout money next season.
Signing Tuch to a contract that'll likely be in the neighborhood of $10.5 million annually will be quite restrictive, and it's a deal that may not age gracefully as he hits his mid- to upper-30s.
It feels like the Sabres' best option from a roster-building standpoint is trading the Team USA Olympic roster hopeful to the highest bidder at the deadline, but that'd be a tough sell in Western New York if the team is still firmly in the playoff race at that point.
So, it's a tricky ordeal for Kekalainen to navigate and it's a saga that may ultimately define his first season in charge of Buffalo's front office.