Even with some big extensions kicking in for the Buffalo Sabres, they still have a fair bit of money to play with this offseason as they try to add the final touches on a promising young team. There have already been a couple of trade candidates on the team dating back to the start of the offseason, but recent signings to kick off free agency and rumored signings to come have made those trades much more likely. Here’s a better look at which signings and future signings have caused which players to now be on the trade block.
Ilya Lyubushkin
After the Sabres decided to sign Connor Clifton and Erik Johnson to $3+ million AAV deals, they pushed their total up to eight defenseman on one-way deals plus Owen Power to make it nine. Of course nine defensemen aren’t going to be on the NHL roster, so something has to give and a trade is likely being facilitated for one of them. But who?
Ilya Lyubushkin seems like the most likely as the signing of two right-shot defensemen pushes him out of the lineup. He only averaged 16 minutes per game during the 68 games he did play last season, so he wasn’t integral to the success. Johnson and Clifton both seem like they can do the job Lyubushkin did with a better success rate. Riley Stillman would likely be the odd man out in terms of getting NHL playing time even though he did suit up for 50 games last season. His trade value will be a little lower, so I bet the Sabres don’t mind bringing him up and down at the risk of losing him to waivers. Lyubushkin does have one year left at $2.75 million and can be a third pairing defensemen on many teams. Maybe retaining some cap would send him to a contender.
Victor Olofsson
According to Lance Lysowski, the Sabres pushed to sign a few different forwards during the opening day of free agency and got close, but nothing happened. General manager Kevyn Adams is monitoring the situation in free agency, but ultimately could end up holding the line. There are still some solid wingers that the team could bring in since the Sabres do still have a fair bit of money to spend to get to the salary cap.
Most notable wingers include Patrick Kane and Vladimir Tarasenko who can both still put up points and are veterans they can add to the top-six. The forward who has been rumored to be leaving town the entire offseason is Victor Olofsson. The 27-year-old can definitely score and has a spot on the power play, but there is a lot of young internal competition. He himself assumed he would be traded at some point this offseason, and if the player has the feeling, he must know more than us on the outside looking in.
Eric Comrie
The thought is that the Sabres will run with Devon Levi and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in net unless something they like really comes up. This means Eric Comrie at $1.8 million AAV for one final season will be the odd man out, likely leading to a trade. The team rolled with three goaltenders last season and it’s not exactly something they want to keep doing. Levi is seen as their goalie of the future, and although UPL was seen as a trade candidate during the season to upgrade goaltending, the team is now looking to get the most out of him in a year where defense has been upgraded in front of them to give the netminders more help.
Related: Sabres & Ducks are Perfect Match for Goaltender Swap
Who do you think will be traded and who do you think should this offseason?
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