The Buffalo Sabres, like most of the teams in the league, are preparing for Friday’s NHL Draft. The first round is expected to be insane, and the Atlantic Division is already reinforcing itself after the Sabres won the division. It was 14 years that Sabres fans waited to make the playoffs, but now, their division rivals are making moves to push the division to the top of the league.
After both usual contenders missed the playoffs, both the Florida Panthers and Toronto Maple Leafs made massive moves in their attempts to get back in contention. The Panthers traded for Brady Tkachuk, keeping him in the Sabres’ division, and the Maple Leafs traded for the rights to Darren Raddysh, the top defensive free agent. He then signed a max-term contract in Toronto.
This all made the Sabres pursuit of repeated playoff contention that much harder. The Sabres haven’t sat back while all this is happening. They traded their 27th-overall pick and Michael Kesserling to the San Jose Sharks for the 20th-overall pick. Not only is that a better pick in the first round, but it is a more desirable trade asset. Getting a “top-20” pick helps move the needle in a trade for a star player.
And that brings us to the “perfect” scenario for Day 1 of the NHL Draft. The perfect scenario is getting a star player with that pick. The number one player they should target is Robert Thomas. He does exactly what they need from a roster standpoint.
Of course, it’s going to cost more than just the No. 20 pick to get Thomas, who is one of the most desired trade assets in the league, but in this perfect scenario, the Sabres get him locked down with that pick.
Buffalo Sabres perfect draft night means acquiring Robert Thomas
Adding Thomas, barring one of these players going in return, would give the Sabres a top-six that looks like this:
Zach Benson - Robert Thomas - Tage Thompson
Noah Ostlund - Josh Norris/Konsta Helenius - Josh Doan
This gives Lindy Ruff a ton of flexibility with his lineup. Even if the Sabres have to give up Helenius in the deal, it’s still a huge win for the continued contention of this franchise.
If this trade isn’t on the table, the Sabres should target a possible superstar forward, and they’d be smart to just go with the best player available. There are a few options that could fall into their lap despite being mocked earlier, including Boston College’s Oscar Hemming. If he could drop to the Sabres, that would be a perfect scenario for them in the long term.
He is likely going to go earlier, but with teams focusing on centers and defensemen in this draft, Hemming has an outside chance to fall to the Sabres. He's a big-bodied forward with a ton of skill. The Sabres would love to add him to their forward group in a couple of years.
Add us as a preferred source on Google