What would a hypothetical trade for Pavel Buchnevich look like for the Sabres?

The ultimate trade package for Buchnevich

For a player of Buchnevich’s caliber, Kevyn Adams should have no qualms about trading his 2024 first-round pick. As implied in the previous section, there is no way Armstrong is accepting such a trade unless a first-rounder is involved, and the sooner he can use it, the better off the Sabres and the Blues are. 

Let’s talk about the Sabres blue line vs. the Blues blue line. One is among the youngest in hockey, and the other has an average age of 30.3. Armstrong has no choice but for his defensive rotation to get younger if he wants the team to keep competing for a potential playoff spot when the likes of Justin Faulk, Torey Kurg, Colton Parayko, and Nick Leddy see their respective contracts close in on expiring. 

But there won’t be a huge sense of urgency here, so let’s go with Nikita Novikov, someone who still needs to see time in Rochester but will evolve into an A-prospect if he hasn’t already done so. 

This leaves a forward, and everyone in the NHL universe knows the Sabres have arguably the best group of forwards in their prospects pool. For this trade to occur, Armstrong would likely demand a prospect with high upside, so Noah Ostlund would be the lucky player since it would be tough to see Adams moving those like Jiri Kulich and Isak Rosen, even in this situation. But Ostlund should at least debut in the NHL this season and become a full-time NHLer in 2025-26.