5 defensemen the Sabres must consider trading for after Samuelsson’s injury

While the Sabres may not be traditional buyers at the trade deadline on March 8th, it shouldn’t deter general manager Kevyn Adams from adding that final piece to the blue line. With Mattias Samuelsson done for the season, Buffalo has a few more holes to fill in the defensive rotation, and trading for someone now could get rid of a potential offseason need.

The names listed below comprise a few who would willingly come to Buffalo if the team turns their fortunes around over the next month. Others listed may be fine with joining one of the youngest teams in the NHL for the rest of the year if it means a potential playoff berth for next season.

Therefore, while the Sabres currently look like sellers or at least a team that will stand idle at the deadline, their current situation should entice Adams to work the phone lines. 

Chris Tanev will block lanes every bit as efficiently as Mattias Samuelsson

If the Sabres won games in February and they clawed their way back into legitimate contention, Chris Tanev should have no issues coming to Buffalo to help the Blue and Gold finally return to the playoffs. Tanev, 34, will also give the Sabres a strong leadership presence that they still seem to be lacking despite having Kyle Okposo, Zemgus Girgensons, and Erik Johnson in town for the time being.

However, the only way Tanev will be in Buffalo is if the Sabres start winning more games. They had a good start to the 2024 calendar year in January, so we can’t count them out just yet. But if Buffalo reverts into the team we saw between October 12th and December 31st, there is no likelihood that Tanev will have any interest in moving to Western New York.