The Buffalo Sabres could go a number of different ways as the NHL is in the midst of trade season following the NHL Draft and the opening of free agency on July 1. With the departure of winger Alex Tuch and defenseman Bowen Byram, GM Jarmo Kekalainen is expected to seek out offensive reinforcements to make up for the 44 goals lost by their departures.
Over the next few weeks, we will continue to look at potential options for the Sabres. Some of the possibilities are not going to match Tuch’s stats, but any additions could provide some relief to the pressure that youngsters Konsta Helenius, Jiri Kulich, or Noah Ostlund will be under to make up the deficit.
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Kekalainen ideally would like to make up as much of the 60-to-70 point production that he lost with Tuch, and another possibility is someone who may be readily available in the way of the Anaheim Ducks matching the offer sheet to center Leo Carlsson and that is veteran winger Chris Kreider. The 35-year-old was part of the dismantling of the NY Rangers by former Sabre Chris Drury, as he was dealt to the Ducks after 13 years on Broadway. In his first season on the West Coast, Kreider matched his goal total in his previous season with the Rangers (22) and posted 50 points.
The matching of Carlsson’s five-year, $90 million deal ($18 million AAV) has left the Ducks with just over $9 million in cap space, 40-goal scorer Cutter Gauthier still to sign, and a blueline short-handed after the departures of vets Radko Gudas and Jacob Trouba, and the trade of Olen Zellweger to Buffalo last month. Ducks GM Pat Verbeek was taken by surprise at the Carlsson offer sheet, thinking he would have plenty of cap space to sign him, Gauthier, blueliner Pavel Mintyukov, and more defensive replacements.
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The Ducks scrambled to re-sign Mintyukov to a five-year deal at an AAV of $7.2 million, and now do not have enough cap space to extend Gauthier. A number of NHL insiders have indicated that Verbeek is now looking to jettison a contract to clear room to re-sign the 22-year-old scorer, which reportedly include Kreider, former Tampa winger Alex Killorn, and Frank Vatrano.
Adding Kreider would make perfect sense for the Sabres, if he is not on their 15-team no-trade list. Even though he is slowing down, the Massachusetts native can still move and is capable of playing in the top-six. He has one year left on his contract at $6.5 million, which would mean no long-term commitment on the part of Kekalainen, and in the spot that Verbeek is in, a deal might be so low-cost that the Ducks would have to include a pick to take on contract.
That might be a long shot, since there might be a number of teams interested in the big winger, but the potential cost would likely be significantly less than any of the other trade or free agent options out there currently.
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