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 replace the 60-to-70 point production that he lost with Tuch, and another possibility is someone the former Columbus GM is quite familiar with and that is Blue Jackets winger Kirill Marchenko. The 25-year-old was a 2018 second round pick who spent three seasons with SKA St. Petersburg before coming to North America in 2022.
In four NHL seasons, has exceeded the 20-goal mark each year, with a career-high 31 goals in 2024-25. Marchenko has one year remaining on a three-year bridge deal at a $3.85 million AAV and has one more year before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2027. Similar to the report that Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski would not sign a long term extension with Columbus, the big Russian winger indicated he would not be staying with the Blue Jackets past the remaining two years of control.
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Columbus GM Don Waddell was able to quiet the heated trade chatter regarding Werenski, but there still appears to be some talk about Marchenko, with teams like Montreal looking for top-six scoring help. The Sabres could be a viable option for the winger, since he does not have any no-trade protection and Kekalainen has a number of NHL ready assets with years of control that Waddell would be looking for in return.
There may be no haste on the part of the Blue Jackets, since they have control of Marchenko for two years, but the Sabres need to add a scorer to replace as much of Tuch’s production as possible might make them willing to move a promising youngster like Noah Ostlund in a trade that Waddell cannot turn down. The fact that Marchenko would not be a one-year rental makes him more valuable to any interested team, and given the Sabres hope of building on their Atlantic Division title and playoff run last season, they may be willing to pay the price that Columbus is looking for.
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