March 3rd, 3PM, a little over a week away. A date and time all Sabres fans are looking at under a microscope. Will general manager Kevyn Adams stay put, make a small move, or think the Sabres are a true contender and make a large splash? For the first time in over a decade, this young Sabres team has some options on what to do come deadline day. Lets take a deeper look at some scenarios that could play out in the near future.
Scenario #1: Sabres Stay Put and No Move is Made
If Kevyn Adams chooses this route, it will likely come with some frustration from the fanbase. At the moment the Sabres sit with a record of 28-23-4 (.545%), and are just slightly on the outside looking in. The Sabres have an absolutely brutal schedule the rest of the way, which contains 22 of 27 teams that have over a .500 record. For what it’s worth, the Sabres are 0-5 in the past five vs. playoff contenders, but 4-1 before that. For those keeping track at home, the Sabres have the second hardest schedule remaining in the league, per Tankathon. If the Sabres would stay put, the difficulty of the schedule could put a smile on Adams’ face as he would be challenging his youth to win big games. Adams has time and time again said he will not sacrifice long term sustainability for short term success, and making no move is certainly in the realm of possibility. Would this more than likely hurt the teams chances of making the playoffs of this year? Sure. Could it help build a more experienced, and better team down the line? Most definitely. This option is most certainly something to keep an eye on.
Scenario #2: The Sabres Make a Small Move(s)
What I believe is the most likely option, the Sabres make one or two smaller acquisitions to help make a push for the playoffs, but not takeaway from the young guns development. A major need for this Sabres team is another consistent right handed defenseman. The Sabres have struggled on the bottom pair consistently this season, and although Jacob Bryson has been better as of late, and Clague has shown flashes, a new face could help. Some names to keep an eye on would include, Tim Seeler (RHD-PHI), Justin Braun (RHD-PHI), Carson Soucy (RHD-SEA), and Sean Walker (RHD-LAK). My favorite potential option, however, is Matt Roy from the LA Kings. The Kings have an excess of RHD and are looking to ship either Roy or Walker off, in return for help in other areas of the roster. Roy has 8 goals and 10 assists to show for in 58 games for the Kings. Roy’s underlyings aren’t anything extraordinary, as he has a 47.4XGF% when on the ice, but would be gladly welcomed on the 3rd pair. An underrated characteristic that would most definitely help the Sabres would be Roy’s physicality. The defenseman has recorded 89 hits this season and that alone would be by far the most on this Sabres team (Dahlin-73). If this Sabres team would make the playoffs, a major concern would be how physical they could be and Roy would certainly help that. A mock trade could look something like this:
LAK Receive: 2023 2nd RD Pick (VGK), Vinnie Hinostroza
BUF Receives: Matt Roy, Conditional 2023 7th RD Pick (Disappears if the Sabres make playoffs)
A small move like this would not only satisfy most of the fanbase, but would also bring a solid defenseman to solidify a up and down defensive core.
Scenario #3: Sabres Go All In
Although the least likely scenario, the Sabres have reportedly called in for some big name players. The Sabres are one of the few teams to have the money, the picks, and the prospects at this point in time to pull off a big time deal. Some big name players that make sense would be, Travis Konecny (RW- PHI), Patrick Kane (RW- CHI), Jakub Chychrun (D- ARI), Shayne Gostibehere and John Klingberg (D- ANA). All of these players are a top of trade boards wherever you look, and it will certainly take quite the offer to get them. With that being said, the one player that really fits what the Sabres are looking for is Timo Meier (RW- SJS). The Sabres have reportedly had interest in Meier for a while now. Meier has recorded 52 points (31G-21A), through 57 games on an extremely weak San Jose team, and with offensive help in Buffalo, could definitely be over a point per game. Meier is an elite crease crasher, and even on a terrible team has an excellent XGF% of 59%. The Sharks forward also plays with an edge to his game and has recorded 112 hits, and also is not afraid to drop the gloves. With all that said, San Jose is asking a pricy amount to start the rebuild which is, a 1st rounder, an A tier prospect, and 2B tier prospects. A mock trade for these two teams could look something like this:
SJS Receive: 2023 Cond. 1st RD Pick (Top 3 protected), Isak Rosen, Noah Ostlund, Erik Portillo
BUF Receives: Timo Meier, 2023 6th RD Pick
A trade like this, would most certainly go against what Adams has preached of future first, which is why the trade seems unlikely. However, don’t be surprised if the Sabres make a big splash similar to this in this upcoming offseason!
As deadline day approaches, it’s a breath of fresh air to be where this Sabres team is currently at. The team has exceeded expectations, and has set themselves up to have a shot at playoffs. This luxury will make GM Kevyn Adams make some decisions at the deadline, and the Buffalo fanbase can only hang on for the ride. If the right chips fall, this very well could be the year the Sabres start something special for years ahead!
(article cover photo via The Buffalo News)
4 Responses
Excellent!
Thank you, Gary!
Great article Carson! I just want to say that last night was an example of how these players have been let down by Kevin Adams! Someone needed to put Ryan O’Reilly on the seat of his pants last night! This team needs to get bigger and tougher to ever compete in the playoffs! Right now Toronto just ran them over with speed and size! Boston will run them out if the building! They can’t even play a chippy game! Playoffs without goal tending and some size will be a fruitless attempt! So let’s see if he makes this team better for next year!
First off, I appreciate it! To your point, last night was most certainly a disappointment. The team is incredibly immature, and when Peyton Krebs and Rasmus Dahlin are your “tough guys”, there’s an issue. I don’t believe it’s a major concern in the regular season, but come playoffs it most certainly is. Should be fun to see how the end of this season and the offseason plays out. Appreciate the comment!