The big news around the NHL this week was the reported contract offer the Minnesota Wild made to forward Kirill Kaprizov. It would have made him the highest-paid player in the league, according to Frank Seravalli, but the bigger element of the report was that Kaprizov rejected the offer.
The reason that it was rejected wasn't in Seravalli's report, and it raises the question of what the Wild could do to keep him in Minnesota. It seems like they have made the best offer they can, and now the rest of the league should be calling the Wild to see if they can work out a trade.
For the Buffalo Sabres they absolutely should be making the call and would probably be the perfect trade partner for the Wild. They have a deep prospect pool and could put together a package that helps them begin to rebuild and replace Kaprizov.
Buffalo Sabres are unlikely the destination that Kirill Kaprizov would want to be traded to and makes a trade impossible
Kaprizov is one of the best players in the NHL and would immediately change the dynamic and expectations for the Buffalo Sabres. In the four seasons in the NHL, he has averaged over a point per game, and in the seasons he has played in 75 or more games, he has averaged 102 points in those seasons.
The Sabres could use a left wing like Kaprizov, and with him on one side of the line and Tage Thompson on the other, creates challenges for opposing teams.
With the Sabres being a perfect trade partner for the Wild and Kaprizov being exactly what Buffalo needs, any kind of trade is highly unlikely. Kaprizov has a full no-movement clause entering the final year of his contract. The idea that he would waive it and come to Buffalo, with their lack of success over the last decade, and commit to a long-term deal is hard to imagine.
It will be some time before the Buffalo Sabres will be a place that the top players would consider, and it is going to take them winning on the ice to change the narrative. They aren't in that position now and will almost certainly miss out on trading for Kaprizov.