While the Buffalo Sabres may look like a better hockey team here in late November, it still doesn't hide the pedestrian start that has them looking like non-contenders once again. And if they end up with a rough start to December, they could be the next team in line to potentially talk about hosting a fire sale.
Earlier in the week, word came that the Vancouver Canucks were strongly considering it, based on their poor play lately. And like the Canucks, the Sabres have some good players in the thick of their respective primes whom they can move should they remain near the bottom of the Atlantic.
Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch are among the team leaders in points, and both would probably like to land on playoff-caliber teams sooner rather than later. But it would be hard to see the Sabres shop Thompson unless they get a good offer for him, one that would likely be an A-prospect, a first-round pick, and maybe a moderately productive NHL-ready talent.
Alex Tuch would be the easier of the two to part ways with, just a $4.750 million cap hit that's in its final year. Jason Zucker would be another one to watch. Like Tuch, Zucker has a team-friendly $4.75 million deal, but it doesn't expire until the end of the 2026-27 season. Zucker, in his age-34 season, is still looking to make a deep playoff run and contend for a Stanley Cup.
A potential Buffalo Sabres fire sale would also involve the blue line and goaltending
Rasmus Dahlin would be the one undisputed untouchable here, unless if he wanted out of Buffalo, should they keep losing and a fire sale occur. Owen Power, who hasn't lived up to his contract at this point, would also be tough to move, considering his $8.3 million cap hit.
Bowen Byram would be the safer bet. Byram has also underproduced, but with his $6.25 million cap hit expiring following the 2026-27 season, he would be a glorified rental. Mattias Samuelsson could also draw some buzz, considering his cap hit hovering just below $4.3 million, and the renaissance season he's having.
Then, there is the situation at goaltender. Alex Lyon has performed well enough that a playoff contender could be interested in his services as a backup. Meanwhile, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen would be the biggest question mark.
Luukkonen has noticeably improved since his rough start to the season, and like so many other players listed above, his $4.75 million cap hit won't break the bank. Luukkonen's inconsistencies probably mean he has played his way out of being a number-one goaltender anywhere, but he could stack up as the second man in a rotation looking for a solid backup.
The ideal case for the Buffalo Sabres
Of course, the ideal case would be no fire sale, but that would mean finishing November strong and enjoying an epic December. One that would see the Sabres grab two points at least 60 percent of the time and claw their way into respectability.
But the Sabres have also given their fans zero reason to believe this will occur. For too many years, the Blue and Gold have had their fair share of strong runs at certain points in the regular season, with their 10-game winning streak in Nov. 2018 being the most notorious, only to falter once they lost their flow.
While a strong December would set the stage for an exciting new year, the more likely scenario is that the Sabres will hang around the bottom of the Atlantic. And if this group of players, many of whom had been together for a while now, can't get it together, then there is no point keeping them around. Therefore, they are still playing their way into a potential fire sale.