The Buffalo Sabres prospects have been busy at development camp this weekend, but for some, it is more than business as usual. That includes Radim Mrtka, who has regularly been part of trade rumors and could be playing somewhere in the near future.
After practice on Tuesday, Mrtka was asked how he was feeling being the constant subject of trade rumors for the Buffalo Sabres. "I would say that hockey is a business and you're either going to be fine with it or I don't know what else," Mrtka said.
The Sabres' first-round pick from a year ago understands the situation the franchise is in at the moment. They are coming off a playoff appearance and want to make the NHL roster better.
"I mean the Sabres made the playoffs after a few years so they just want to get stronger as they could. So I feel like that's the thing which can happen in hockey."
Radim Mrtka is one of the Buffalo Sabres most valuable trade assets
As Mrtka noted, the Sabres are trying to improve their NHL roster, and typically in those situations, teams are trading future assets, either prospects or draft picks, to make that happen. They have some great young forwards in Noah Ostlund, Jiri Kulich, and Konsta Helenius, but all three look poised to be on the Sabres' roster at the beginning of the season.
Meanwhile, the Sabres' blueline is pretty well set, and Mrtka is still probably at least a season away. When you add the fact that they just used the fourth overall pick on defenseman Daxon Rudolph, then Mrtka becomes a player they could part with.
They almost did earlier in the year at the trade deadline in a trade with the St. Louis Blues for defenseman Colton Parayko. However, Parayko did not waive his no-trade clause, and the trade was not able to go through.
General manager Jarmo Kekalainen has been aggressive this offseason and will want to improve the Sabres' roster. If he wants to add an impact player, it is hard to envision a trade being done without including the top prospect Radim Mrtka.
From what Mrtka showed in a brief run in the AHL, he looks like he is going to be a quality NHL player. The question now is which team he might be making his debut with when the time comes.
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