This is the first file in what will be an ongoing series on THN.com’s Buffalo Sabres site. In these files, we’re going to identify a number of teams the Sabres could be making a trade with this summer, and we’ll be picking out specific players who could be trade targets for Buffalo.
Today, we kick things off with a look at the Utah Mammoth, who are aiming to get into the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in their brief NHL history. Let’s get to it:
TEAM: Utah Mammoth
CAP SPACE: $20.3 million
FREE AGENTS: Nick Bjugstad, C; Michael Carcone, C; Jack McBain, LW (RFA)
NEEDS: Veteran experience, more goal production
SABRES FIT? Like the Sabres, the newly-named Mammoth are highly-motivated to get into the post-season next year, and they’re almost assuredly going to make a splash this summer. Some believe they’ll be pursuing Toronto Maple Leafs star right winger Mitch Marner, but doing so would eat up much of their current cap space. Still, that would be a gigantic coup for a Mammoth team swinging for the fences.
Utah may also switch things up by trading a couple of younger players if they can bring in veteran experience and playoff knowhow. The Mammoth missed out on left winger Chris Kreider, who was dealt from the New York Rangers to the Anaheim Ducks this week. But Kreider is exactly the type of player who fits Utah’s needs.
Now, would the Sabres have a match for the Mammoth in a trade? It may be tricky, and it may be a longshot, but someone like Utah winger Lawson Crouse could intrigue Buffalo GM Kevyn Adams. We’re not crazy about the Sabres trading defenseman Bowen Byram, but he’s young enough and still has enough upside to be a tempting acquisition for the Mammoth. And if Buffalo gets back Crouse in return, they may be more amenabe to moving RFA winger J.J. Peterka to address their other needs.
Indeed, given that Crouse had put together two straight seasons where he combined to score 47 goals and 87 points, and given that Crouse is just 27 years old, the Sabres would be acquiring a big-bodied (6-foot-4) winger looking to bounce back from a down year that saw him score only 12 goals in 81 games. Crouse has two years left at $4.3-million-per-season, making him a cost-controlled asset that the Sabres wouldn’t have to break the bank to re-sign anytime soon. Crouse also doesn’t mind getting physical, and that’s an element that could improve the Sabres. And if Crouse does work out in Buffalo, Adams can work with him on a contract extension that works for both the team and the player.
Another option for the Sabres to consider is Mammoth forward Nick Schmaltz, a 29-year-old veteran who has posted at least 20 goals and 59 points in each of the past four seasons. Schmaltz is a pricier acquisition at $5.85-million per season, but he’ll be a UFA next summer, so he’s got the motivation to have a big year — and Buffalo could be the place where he can earn a sizeable raise with a strong 2025-26 season.
The Mammoth have a decent-enough blueline with Sean Durzi, John Marino and Mikhail Sergachev in their top four, but acquiring Byram would push greybeard Ian Cole into the third ‘D’ pairing. And considering that Utah has enough youngsters in the system, they can afford to part ways with Crouse or Schmaltz. A trade with the Mammoth could be the precursor to other deals — as we’ve said, whether that’s Peterka, Alex Tuch, or perhaps another young player on Buffalo’s roster.
Regardless of which Mammoth player they target, the Sabres should be looking at Utah as a viable trade partner this summer. They’re two teams roughly in the same spot in their competitive trajectory, and they can help each other in different ways. Buffalo can help the Mammoth on their back end, and Utah can help the Sabres on their front end.
This is why we see the Mammoth as a solid fit with Buffalo on the trade front. Utah GM Bill Armstrong needs to come to the Mammoth’s fan base with an exciting young player, and Byram fits that bill to a ‘t’. And Adams can come away from a trade involving Schmaltz or Crouse and give Sabres fans a changed lineup that can be kept together for the long term if the team plays well in 2025-26. We still see Buffalo making more moves even after a Byram-to-Utah deal, but getting off on a proactive foot with an early deal with the Mammoth would serve notice to the rest of the NHL that the Sabres are focused on making bigger moves this off-season.
Time will tell whether the two teams collaborate on a major move, but there’s a great opportunity for the Sabres to work with Utah this summer. Now it’s a matter of finding the stones to make a notable transaction.
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