We are over half way through the season and the Sabres have had their ups and downs. In my previous preview I looked at the Sabres players who may be available to trade at the deadline. This trade preview looks at the potential needs and a few players who could be a fit for Buffalo.
Needs:
The Sabres are tied for 28th in scoring in the league and the veterans that you would expect for 40 goals combined like Matt Moulson and Tyler Ennis have seven goals, although Ennis is out with a concussion.
The Sabres top players like Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly and Sam Reinhart have all had excellent seasons offensively and to a lesser extent Evander Kane. The problem Buffalo has had is the secondary scoring from players like Matt Moulson, Tyler Ennis, Zemgus Girgensons, Johan Larsson, Marcus Foligno and Brian Gionta is non-existent. The vet’s haven’t produced and certain youngsters have slowed or plateaued in their development.
Moving forward Buffalo would be good to find a top RW along with a solid 2nd–3rd line winger. In the upcoming draft, odds are Buffalo will be drafting top five and they can probably grab a top winger then for the future, but they need more veteran depth up front.
Buffalo has a nice young defensive core with Rasmus Ristolainen, Mark Pysyk and Jake McCabe. Zach Bogosian has been very up and down and has not been steady on the back end. Cody Franson has been a major disappointment, Josh Gorges has been steady but he is older, and Mike Weber is a bottom six defenseman.The Sabres would’ve liked one of the four veterans to step in the top spot available and run from it, but that has not happened.
So who may be a good fit for some of these needs? Here are some players that have been rumored to be available that could jump onto the Sabres and help:
RW-Kyle Okposo, Age 27 New York Islanders:
He is in the last year of his deal and with the players the Isles have in their system he may be expendable with this being his last year on this contract. His name has come up a lot as a player the Islanders may consider moving, although he has been excellent this year. He averages 50-60 pts and 20-30 goals a year and would be a perfect RW on the first line.
RW-Mikkel Boedker Age 26 Phoenix Coyotes:
While he has never hit 20 goals before, he was on pace for 20 last year before injury, is on pace for 20 goals this year, and had 19 goals and 51 pts in the 2013-14 season. He needs a new contract after this year, but the money hungry Yotes may be looking to move him for younger players to build with their young core and he would be a really solid No. 2 RW, something the Sabres desperately need.
RW- Cam Atkinson Age 26 Columbus Blue Jackets:
Similar to Boedker, a younger player who can average 35-40 points and 15-25 goals a year. He is smaller then Boedker and Okposo, but with the Blue Jackets being major sellers this year at the trade deadline, he could be a decent option on the right side to pump up scoring.
RW- Kris Versteeg Age 29 Carolina Hurricanes:
He is older then the other wingers but routinely hits 15-20 goals a year and 35-45 points. Carolina will also be a seller this year and Versteeg could replace Gionta on the 3rd line. The major question would be could you trust Versteeg for 3-4 years at this production. If yes, then he is a good fit for the upcoming years, but if not, the Sabres can’t bring in a player who’s value plummets again like Matt Moulson.
D- Marc Staal Age 29 New York Rangers:
I was speaking with Joe Fortunato, the main editor of Blueshirt Banter on SB Nation for the New York Rangers. In a recent article, he said the Rangers need to move money to get cap space back to retool for the future. Long story short, the contract for Staal has made him expendable for the Rangers with his age and if the Rangers could get value back for players like him or Dan Giradi it could be a good move.
Staal still has five years left on his contract at $5.7 million per year, but he would bring a great amount of experience and stability to the back end. If Buffalo could manage their cap correctly he could be a real value to the roster and help speed the rebuild up.