Sabres trade trees

Yet Another Branch for the Rick Martin Trade Tree

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I wouldn’t have expected this trade tree to require another update so soon, but former first round pick Ryan Johnson was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins, necessitating yet another update.

Options for additional growth continue to dwindle, with Johnson and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as the two most likely candidates to bring new additions to this trade tree. The best case scenario for Johnson would have seen him packaged in a larger deal, one that might bring about several new names, draft picks or prospects that could really juice the longevity of the tree. His individual value was quite low, as illustrated by the deal that brought back Caleb Jones and Daniel Laatsch, but it wasn’t out of the question to consider him as a throw-in on a bigger offseason trade (think makeweight in the Bowen Byram deal).

This branch isn’t likely to grow further as both Jones and Laatsch are free agents this coming summer and won’t garner much in the trade market as minor league defenders. That leaves Luukkonen, Tage Thompson and 2025 7th round pick Melvin Novotny as the final active pieces on the trade tree. Obviously, Luukkonen’s name has been in trade rumors dating back to the offseason. It’s certainly possible that he is moved in the next two seasons. Thompson is about as close to untouchable as anyone in Buffalo’s system, but the potential for him to move could grow as his contract winds down. He has three years left after this season and he turns 29 in two weeks. He could be much more expendable in a year or two depending on how the roster evolves around him, though he’s still the least likely of the active players remaining on the trade tree to move.

Branches Still Grow on the Rick Martin Trade Tree

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We were awfully close to another blockbuster springing a new branch on the Rick Martin (and Don Edwards) trade tree this summer. Had the Connor Hellebuyck trade gone down as it was reported – with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen as a piece going back to the Winnipeg Jets – the trade tree would have grown a large new branch. While that trade didn’t come to fruition, another deal did add a new piece to this trade tree which can be traced all the way back to March of 1981, when Rick Martin was traded to the LA Kings.

The newest branch was thanks to the signing rights trade of Stiven Sardarian to the Carolina Hurricanes on August 17. There are sill a few opportunities for this tree to grow, though the options are slowly dwindling as draft picks go unsigned and veterans age out.

Rick Martin Trade Tree Grows with Rasmus Asplund Trade

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Slowly but surely, the branches on the Rick Martin tree are thinning out. There are only a few areas left where additional trades could extend the tree even further. Rasmus Asplund was one of those few players and his move to Nashville keeps the trade tree going until at least 2027, if not longer depending on the outcome of the seventh round pick they received. The updated version of the trade tree is below. Open the image in a new window if you want the high-res version.

Updated & Reformatted Rick Martin Trade Tree

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The deadline deal to ship Brandon Montour to the Florida Panthers and the subsequent selection of Stiven Sardarian in the 2021 draft added another leg to the continually expanding Rick Martin trade tree. Given the scope of the image and the generally confusing nature of the layout I chose to use originally, it seemed like it was time to revisit the format and recreate it in a manner that would be easier for people to digest.

This new format follows a more traditional trade tree layout – something I originally avoided because of how much length it would add to the image. While it did increase the image size by quite a bit, making it easier to decipher the outcome of each trade was more important. This also made it a little easier to separate the Don Edwards trade tree from the Martin tree while combining the two players that link them (Ryan Miller and Steve Ott). You’ll now see the Martin tree is indicated by the blue branches while the Edwards tree is represented in gold. The branches which belong to both have blue and gold accents.

As you can see, there are still a handful of branches that can keep this thing going for a few more years as Sardarian, Rasmus Asplund, Aaron Huglen, Colin Miller and Ukko Pekka Luukkonen should all project out additional growth in one way or another.

Colin Miller Acquisition Extends Martin Trade Tree Once Again

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The massive Rick Martin/Don Edwards combined trade tree got a couple of new branches this offseason. The official designation on San Jose’s pick saw the selection moved to Anaheim as part of the Brandon Montour trade. The other pick from the Evander Kane return, a 2019 fourth, was eventually moved so the Sabres could select Aaron Huglen in that same round. Ryan Johnson was picked with the 31st pick, received from St. Louis.

Colin Miller also became part of the trade tree as the 2021 second rounder included in the Ryan O’Reilly trade was sent to Vegas in exchange for the defenseman. This is sure to grow even larger in the coming years, we’ll see how long it takes for the next branch to sprout .

Another Extension for the Rick Martin Trade Tree

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Over 30 years have passed since Rick Martin was traded to Los Angeles on March 10, 1981 and there are trades being made today which can be traced directly back to that move and the trade of Don Edwards and Richie Dunn a little over a year later.

There’s little sign of this massive trade tree petering out any time soon as acquisitions of picks and prospects over the last couple of years will extend it’s life for at least five more seasons. If not more. The most recent, was the acquisition of Brandon Montour from the Anaheim Ducks. Acquired for Brendan Guhle and a conditional first round pick, the Sabres will part ways with one of the first round picks they acquired from either the San Jose Sharks or St. Louis Blues. Regardless of which pick the Ducks end up with, Montour will slot in as part of long list of players who can be traced back to Martin’s trade.

For those of you who are new to this image, a few quick notes:

  • All logos are era adjusted so stuff your whining about the Slug.
  • The logos next to each draft pick indicate which team ultimately selected that player. Many of the picks were dealt again so the logos are there to indicate the final destination of each pick.
  • This combines the Martin trade tree and Edwards trade tree due to where they overlap (Ryan Miller and Steve Ott going to St. Louis). That deal created a significant branch of the two trees so it made sense to combine the two. No other trade trees are included for the sake of clarity (whatever is left given how deep this goes). There are many other trade trees which intersect with this but including them all would make an already confusing document that much worse. To give some of examples, Craig Muni was acquired in a separate trade prior to being included in the Grosek/Shannon deal. Guhle was selected with a pick acquired in exchange for Thomas Vanek. Nikita Zadorov comes from the Jason Pominville trade tree. You can find other significant trade trees from throughout Sabres history with this link.
  • Feel free to air any other questions or areas of confusion in the comments or via Twitter.

Thomas Vanek Trade Tree Extended by Montour Trade

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There’s not a whole lot to love about what came from the original trade of Thomas Vanek but Brandon Montour might finally change that. Brendan Guhle was pretty much the last remaining vestige of the original trade and there’s more life given to this trade tree’s longevity thanks to the acquisition of Montour.

 

 

Rick Martin Trade Tree Sprouts Another Branch after O’Reilly Trade

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The Rick Martin trade tree’s life got a big boost when Evander Kane was dealt for a pair of draft picks at the 2018 NHL Trade Deadline. Little did we know that it would get an even bigger boost this summer as Ryan O’Reilly was dealt for a big package of players and picks.

Tage Thompson and the pair of picks the Sabres acquired give the team a trio of solid assets to build with and all three could one day contribute to future growth of the trade tree below. We’ll probably see a branch or two more from this tree before it finally runs its course.

Kane Trade Extends the Rick Martin Trade Tree

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Underwhelming return aside, the trade that sent Evander Kane gave added life to two of the biggest pieces of Sabres history. The Rick Martin and Don Edwards trade trees, which converged with the deal that sent Ryan Miller and Steve Ott to St. Louis in 2014, will roll for quite a bit longer now that the Sabres have two more 2019 (or 2020) picks in their pocket.

Dominik Hasek Trade Tree – Minimal Return for a Franchise Great

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The Sabres didn’t fetch a king’s ransom for Dominik Hasek but it feels as if Hasek has claim to the highest profile trade in franchise history. Maybe the LaFontaine/Turgeon or Andreychuk/Fuhr swaps earn the title given their blockbuster status, but it’s not every day a team trades away of the greatest to ever pull on the crest.

The Hasek trade was pretty underwhelming, more so given Slava Kozlov’s disdain for the area and limited production on the ice. Of course, the Sabres paid pennies on the dollar for the greatest player to ever play his position. So even though the return from dealing Hasek pales in comparison to other marquee deals, Hasek’s on-ice contributions more than make up for it.