3 players the Sabres must avoid trading for in the 2024 offseason
The Buffalo Sabres must make a big trade or two this summer, but there are a few players general manager Kevyn Adams should avoid trying to acquire.
The Buffalo Sabres have several solid options who could be potential trade chips this summer. But there are others who they need to be more leery about, and concerns for the players listed in this article range from their current contract to those who would be a “nice, but not necessary” addition.
To be honest, the following players would help the Blue and Gold if general manager Kevyn Adams traded for them. Yet just because they would make adequate additions, they wouldn’t help take the Sabres as far as candidates listed in previous pieces.
So, who should Adams avoid this trade season, even if settling for them wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing for Buffalo?
Reilly Smith, W
If Kevyn Adams wants to add years of experience to his forward group, someone like Reilly Smith would make a realistic option. He won the Stanley Cup in 2023, and the journeyman has played at least a handful of NHL games each season since 2011-12; he was once again productive in what has been his lone season so far in Pittsburgh, where he had 40 points and 13 goals with the Penguins while averaging over 16 minutes of ice time per contest.
But there are a few concerns regarding Smith, one of which is the state of his current contract. The $4 million he’s owed this season isn’t the issue, but the fact that he’s in the final year of his deal and heading into his age-33 season are a couple of areas of concern.
While the Sabres undoubtedly must acquire someone to help them win now, they’re also not in a position to add players who will help them win for only a potential one-year window. Instead, the Blue and Gold find themselves on a rung where they still want to trade for players who have long-term potential, like Pavel Buchnevich, if we’re talking about those in the final seasons of their respective contracts.
Jakob Chychrun, D
This time last season, or even at the 2024 (but not the 2023) trade deadline, I would have been all-in on someone like Jakob Chychrun. In 2023-24, the blueliner finally proved he can stay healthy and appear in all 82 games. He put up solid numbers offensively, and such play is something the Sabres could have used this season, thanks to their scoring difficulties.
But Kevyn Adams learned the hard way last offseason and well into the 2023-24 season what happens when you have so many blueliners vying for spots with the big club. Besides that, Chychrun has far more upside than Henri Jokiharju, Jacob Bryson, and Riley Stillman have, so it’s not the kind of player you put onto the third-pairing. And he would also be joining a team that recently traded for Bowen Byram.
If Adams were looking to acquire a player in a trade that would make no sense, he should go ahead and do all he can to land Chychrun. And we don’t need to limit this section exclusively for the 26-year-old, as it can also apply to any defenseman who may find themselves on the move via trade this summer.
Adams doesn’t need to create a controversy in any position group or rotation, and the only way Chychrun should logistically be on the table is if he trades another defenseman first.
Logan Couture, C
Few in the NHL have been the face of a franchise longer than Logan Couture, who has been a staple in San Jose, having played 15 seasons with the organization. But with the Sharks looking to revamp everything, there is a good chance Mike Grier will move him this summer to a team looking for leadership.
Still one of the NHL’s younger organizations, the Sabres can use another leader to take the spot that Kyle Okposo held for years. Couture, even in his later years, has still proven to be a productive player and one who can put up 23 or more goals when healthy. His play in the defensive zone matches what he can do with the puck, and he’s also someone who can easily see time in the top-six in the event of injuries.
But Couture will be in his 16th, and age-35 season, and he’s also coming off of a pair of significant injuries. Both factors will lower his trade value vs. someone like Pavel Buchnevich or high-potential youngsters, but it’s also worth asking whether he’s the correct candidate to help the Sabres get to the next level.
Even if he can, it also raises the question of how many more good seasons he realistically has. The only way Kevyn Adams should even consider trading for a player like Couture is if he can underpay, which would entail Grier to literally want to dump him off to someone else.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)