The Sabres are more than likely staring at another rebuild. They may be looking to once again trade away assets and looking at moving many players who are pending free agents off their books to gain either more depth or draft capital.
One player that they may look at is defenseman, Jacob Bryson. The 27-year-old Canadian, has added depth throughout this season but has not put up the stats which may lead Buffalo to resign him during the offseason.
He may however provide depth to a playoff contender that may be looking for an extra defenseman in the postseason. In 33 games on the ice, Bryson has four assists on the year.
Buffalo is 3-1 on the year, in games where he has assisted. That kind of boost may be an added incentive for a team looking to add him to their playoff roster.
On the defensive end of the ice, he has been more of a positive. He has 38 blocks on the year, meaning he's averaging at least one a game. In fact, he has averaged over one block a game in every season he has been with the Sabres.
Bryson has a team friendly contract for Buffalo.
He currently is signed through the rest of the year at just $900,000. It only accounts for 1.02$ against Buffalo's cap. Any playoff contender could take on his contract for the remainder of 2025.
His inconsistency though may be what is holding him back. He has played well in moments but not throughout his entire NHL career. Last season he was sent back down to the Rochester Americans for a part of the year.
He has not been in the lineup for Buffalo since February 8th. In his last five games for the Sabres, he has not provided any assists in limited minutes.
He has however, tallied five blocks in those games. In a winning effort against the Nashville Predators on January 31st, he did have two shots on goal and two hits in the win.
If Bryson is able to get in the lineup and provide a spark on the ice, he could give other teams a strong look for them to make a move. His contract his easily movable and he could be useful in the later rounds of the playoffs.
The Sabres and Bryson have a chance to show the league more when they have seven games between now and March 7th.