Two in the Box

The Buffalo Sabres are open for business. 

Kevyn Adams hasn’t been shy expressing his desire to inject talent into Buffalo’s roster and in addition to the 11th overall pick, it appears that he is prepared to include either players or prospects into an offer that brings back significant talent. Last fall, there was some expectation that Adams would take a stab at a significant trade, and in anticipation of that, we put together this list of trade tiers for Buffalo’s players and prospects. With it seeming nearly inevitable that Adams will pull the trigger on a deal in the next week, it was high time to revisit those trade tiers.

This list will differ a bit from the version in the fall as the Sabres still have several unsigned restricted and unrestricted free agents. Most of the team’s UFAs are of little consequence in trade discussions, so they wouldn’t have made this list anyway. But the RFAs remained, with some exceptions, as they still have value in a trade. I have also left draft picks off this list since, theoretically, they’re all readily available to be dealt at any moment. So this list will focus solely on Buffalo’s prospects and roster players. 

Have a Bag Packed

These are the players whose days in Buffalo appear to be numbered as they have the highest likelihood of being shipped out. 

Jeff Skinner 

The writing seems to be on the wall for Skinner. Whether or not he decides to waive his no movement clause or if the Sabres opt to simply buy him out, it doesn’t look like he’ll be back for 2024-25. As discussed here, a trade (even with retention) is far preferable to a buyout. Finding the perfect fit of a team that wants Skinner and who Skinner will waive for is a significant challenge for Adams. 

Henri Jokiharju

Bowen Byram’s arrival and Mattias Samuelsson’s return doesn’t bode well for Jokiharju’s long term outlook. He’s an RFA with arbitration rights and it’s plausible that his arbitration award would be above what the Sabres are interested in paying. He’s a right handed defenseman who is only 25. That’s a highly valuable commodity in today’s NHL, even if his arbitration is a bit of a headache for an acquiring team. Ideally, he’s sent to a club with a need for a quality defender and who are willing to give him some term. That would erase any potential issue with arbitration and could even give the Sabres a touch more value if he’s tendered a qualifying offer ahead of a trade. 

Bubble Players

This title could be misconstrued as a group on the doorstep of being dealt. My view is that these are the players who can provide the Sabres additional value in a trade. I had Casey Mittelstadt in this group in the fall and he’s a perfect example of this tier; a player the Sabres wouldn’t necessarily want to trade, but a player who could garner significant attention in a deal and play a position that has good organizational depth. Therefore, this is a group that should be monitored if a situation arises where the Sabres can leverage an additional return from another club. 

Peyton Krebs

The center position is a lot different than it was before Mittelstadt was traded. The Sabres now have a hole at third center, so Krebs isn’t a surplus asset the way he or Mittelstadt were last year. However, he’s still a young, former first round pick who hasn’t quite found his place in Buffalo and could be enticing to another club, especially one that could find a more prominent role for Krebs. I would imagine Buffalo would only be willing to part with him as part of a package for a significant talent to play at the top of the lineup. 

Ryan Johnson

Johnson might be an under the radar trade chip this summer. Even if Rasmus Dahlin will play on his off side, Owen Power, Mattias Samuelsson and Owen Power are all left handed defenders who either have term or, in Byram’s case, will be looking at an extension next summer. It’s a crowded blueline and while the Sabres aren’t teeming with left handed defensemen further down the pipeline, Johnson could represent a quality piece for the Sabres as they try to make improvements elsewhere. 

Isak Rosen

Of Buffalo’s recent first round selections, Rosen seems like he’s the most expendable. There’s no potential for him to shift to center as he’s a natural winger. He’s shown the ability to produce in North America and his development has enjoyed a positive trend. He’s the exact type of prospect teams look for in deals, especially for a team in need of futures who are close to breaking through to an NHL roster. 

Alexander Kisakov

It’s a shame that Kisakov hasn’t adapted as well to the North American game. Under different circumstances, as a quality draft pick, Kisakov could be a decent piece to chip into a trade package. Unfortunately, the production hasn’t been there. While his value may not be significant, he could easily wind up in a prospect-for-prospect sort of trade that Filip Cederqvist was part of last year. Or, in a perfect situation, he could be a makeweight in a hockey trade, though that seems unlikely.  

Valuable Assets

This group isn’t too different from the prior group. These are players who could represent value to the Sabres in a deal, but would a little be harder to part with due to their impact on the roster or in the pipeline. 

Noah Ostlund

Ostlund had a strong season in Sweden and looks like the strongest candidate of Buffalo’s quartet of first round prospects to stick at center. He carries similar value to Jiri Kulich, Rosen or Matt Savoie, though the fact that he projects as a center could tip the scales a bit more. 

Matt Savoie

Savoie’s production in the WHL was eye popping and he’ll head to Rochester with a lot of attention on the next step in his progression. I have to think his injury history and size limits his trade value a bit, though his draft pedigree and production ought to counterbalance that to some extent. It seems like one of Buffalo’s key prospects will get shipped out this summer and which one that is may simply be due to situation and circumstance.

Jordan Greenway

The club has said a lot of positive things about Greenway and he also plays a style Adams seems committed to rounding out at the bottom of the lineup. For those reasons, I think it;’s highly unlikely he gets traded, but he would be a pretty decent trade chip. I think it would require a lot of moving pieces (in and out) for Greenway to become a surplus asset, but he is a UFA next summer, so I wouldn’t rule anything out. 

Notables: Viktor Neuchev, Prokhor Poltapov

Safe and Sound

There are a few notable factors that make these players more or less untradable for the Sabres. Maybe they have a contract that would be hard to move or they’re simply a key asset for the team’s future. They aren’t untouchable, but they’re awfully close. 

Bowen Byram

Newly acquired, 23, potential cornerstone for the team’s top four for the long term. He’ll need to earn his extension, so there’s the potential something unexpected would happen, but he appears poised to play a significant role for the Sabres for years to come. 

Owen Power

Rasmus Dahlin isn’t going anywhere and if the Sabres decided they needed to trade from a position of strength, they could consider dangling Power. But I can’t really envision a trade that would be logical to include Power in. You’d be talking about a significant blockbuster that doesn’t come around very often. 

Alex Tuch

The report that the Rangers called on Tuch near the deadline shouldn’t surprise anyone. Tuch’s profile is one that teams love and he can slot in up and down a lineup. Hence why he’s become such a pivotal asset to the Sabres. He is a UFA in two seasons and he’ll be 30 when it’s time for an extension, which won’t be a layup for the Sabres. Extending him will be a risk if he’s seeking any sort of term, so the Sabres will need to begin preparing for life without him. That doesn’t make him a likely trade candidate, but it keeps him from untouchable status. 

Mattias Samuelsson

The Sabres raft of left handed defensemen provides them flexibility in the lineup and in trade negotiations. If Byram firmly establishes himself in the top four, Samuelsson could get pushed down the lineup where his salary may feel heavy for his deployment. His profile is an enticing one, so in a scenario where he’s bypassed internally, he wouldn’t be without value around the league. 

Notables: Jacob Bryson, Connor Clifton, Dylan Cozens, Vsevelod Komarov, Jiri Kulich, Nikita Novikov, Jack Quinn, Anton Wahlberg

Untouchables

This is pretty self explanatory. There is next to no offer Adams could receive that would make him move on from one of these players. Tage Thompson and Dahlin are the team’s two key pieces at forward and defense, respectively. Zach Benson was a tremendous addition and there are high hopes for his continued progression. JJ Peterka finished the season on the top line and will be a pivotal piece if the Sabres hope to snap their playoff drought. 

Buffalo’s goaltenders should really be in a different category, but the team’s goaltending pipeline is thin. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen entrenched himself as Buffalo’s starter and is poised to cash in on his big season last year. Meanwhile, it seems like the organization still views Devon Levi as their goalie of the future. UPL is too valuable to the Sabres today, while Levi still has too much future value for the team to realistically consider moving him. If the Sabres were deeper at the position, it would be a different story. 

Untouchables: Zach Benson, Rasmus Dahlin, Devon Levi, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, JJ Peterka, Tage Thompson