The 2024 NHL offseason has reached its twilight phase, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be a big trade occurring for the Buffalo Sabres before camp begins next month. So let’s talk about three players in the organization - one forward, one defenseman, and one goaltender, who would be prime late-offseason trade candidates.
Some of the names listed you won’t agree with, but if it means bringing in a high-end player from a rebuilding team, everyone in the Sabres fanbase will be fine with moving the following three names.
Jiri Kulich, W
While Jiri Kulich could be a camp revelation and earn a spot with the Sabres big club, the more logical route with Lindy Ruff in town would be to move him to a rebuilding organization. If this were still Don Granato’s team, I would have Kulich pegged somewhere in this lineup, but it’s not the case, so trading him somewhere like Calgary or Anaheim for Blake Coleman or Frank Vatrano would be huge for the Sabres.
Just think of how deep they would be in the top and bottom-six with someone like Vatrano or Coleman, and bringing them into the City of Good Neighbors for someone like Kulich and other assets would get this fanbase excited two months before the regular season starts.
Connor Clifton, D
I almost put Mattias Samuelsson here, but a large contract and an injury history made me hesitate, and probably for the better. While the Sabres have gotten older and edgier in their forward group, it hasn’t been the same in their defensive rotation, not with Henri Jokiharju returning and Bowen Byram coming along late last year.
Clifton took a while to catch on last season, too, and there was rarely a time when he played spectacular hockey. As with Kulich, moving him to a young organization in the middle of a rebuild would be a great place to start, especially in a trade package for a player those rebuilding teams wouldn’t mind moving before the season begins.
Devon Levi, G
Devon Levi may be a shocker here, especially since there’s a chance he begins the season in the Sabres lineup. Further, with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen looking like a No. 1 goaltender, the Sabres could benefit unlike any other if they traded someone who, at worst, will factor in as a 1B in the NHL, again to a rebuilding organization looking for that franchise netminder.
Trading Levi, however, wouldn’t come without its fair share of risks, the most obvious of which being that if Luukkonen backslides, then everyone in the fanbase will be pointing fingers at general manager Kevyn Adams.
The upside is two-fold: The Sabres could get an impact player for Levi from a rebuilding team, and there’s also zero chance of a goaltending controversy occurring should Levi look like the stellar netminder we thought he’d be last season.